My Solitary Hope
by Solitary Hope
Summary: Kodoku and Yuki just move to Kohona for training purposes...But what happens when Sasuke falls in love with Yuki, and then finds out the real reason why they came? With the Akatsuki hot at their heals, they run but get caught... SasukeXOC GaraaXOC other
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys! I know, it's been a very long time since I've updated this… I guess I should say that I lied when I said it wouldn't take me a huge load of time to edit my story, because it sure did. I'm still not done though, but I'm going to put what I have up because I think you deserve it, after waiting so patiently. (That's seventeen chapters…)

In other words, you want to start over and read from the beginning, because some of the chapters are new, including the very first one, and some of the chapters weren't there before, and yet more have been elaborated on, or have had corrections fixed…

So instead of asking questions, go reread the story…I know, it's boring…

_She's over bored and self assured ~ Nirvana "Smells Like Teen Spirit"_

**My Solitary Hope**

**Chapter 1**

Sasuke walked down the quiet hallway. It was a half hour after the end of school, and he had to find a way to get out of the arms of the frolicking, screaming fan girls that tried to get his attention after classes ended, especially Sakura and Ino.

'They never give up,' he thought as he ran his hand through his ebony hair. But he had more important things to do right now then think about his misery.

So as to not have to be followed home every day, he had begun extra lessons with Kakashi after school. He stopped at his locker and inserted his combination, opening the door, and pulling out his 2 books. Slamming the door shut, the noise echoed in the empty hallway. As the noise faded out, it was replaced by the tiny sound of a metal scraping metal somewhere far off in one of the classrooms.

'Naruto must be warming up with Kakashi,' Sasuke thought. Naruto was Sasuke's friend, though Sasuke would have a difficult time admitting it in public….

Naruto was just too…_loud._

"Kakashi didn't tell me Naruto was coming after school today." Sasuke said aloud and subconciously, to himself as he came within sight of the door.

Not to his surprise, the scraping metal sound came from the class he was supposed to enter. The loud noise kept a steady beat. The sound itself echoed along the walls of the hollow training room. Whoever was fighting was keeping up a steady attack, without backing down. Whether is be Naruto or Kakashi, and Sasuke was leaning towards the latter (because he was pretty sure Naruto would never be able to keep up such an attack), that was attacking, he had endurance, not having faltered a single time for rest.

"You fight well. You should give up before I humiliate you."

Confusion suddenly washed over Sasuke. Naruto wasn't speaking normally… Though Naruto _would_ say something that disrespectful to his teacher, his voice sounded odd. Maybe he was sick?... Perhaps Naruto was practicing with someone else and not Kakashi?...

Or maybe, someone was attacking Naruto after school. Being the nine tailed demon, it was very possible…Maybe assassins from another village had come to take him. It could even be someone from his very own village, Konoha.

It was a far fetched idea, but Sasuke could think of quite a few people that might hold a grudge against his friend. He wasn't the best of kids. When Sasuke got to the door, he peeked in the little window.

Sasuke was greeted with the sight of Kakashi squatting on the ground, panting heavily, and staring up at the wall. His gray hair was upright, as it always was, though it was obviously messy, as if he had just been fighting. Sasuke never realized that Naruto had become this advanced in the past couple weeks…Making Kakashi fight without his trade mark book was a difficult task at it was, but to be _beating_ him without his book was on a whole new level.

Following his teacher's gaze, he soon realized that Kakashi was not staring at a wall, but at somebody, and though Sasuke couldn't see Naruto's face, he couldn't think of anyone else who would be fighting Kakashi. He quietly pushed the door open, and it didn't even squeak as he stepped in.

Kakashi suddenly jumped up towards Naruto. Sasuke looked to where he had moved and watched his teacher attack Naruto as he hid in the shadows. Not having been noticed yet, Sasuke decided to watch the fight, to see if he could find anything interesting to learn.

As his eyes fell upon Naruto's silhouette, Sasuke's face contorted in confusion.

_That_ wasn't Naruto.

_That_--…_SHE_…had a chest…a rather endowed one at that… Not that Sasuke was looking…

And then Sasuke relaxed. Naruto must be using his 'sexy jutsu'… And then Sasuke realized that he'd been looking at "her" chest…Ewwwwww. He almost gagged at the thought and looked back up to Naruto.

It must have been a new variation of the jutsu, because Sasuke had never seen this one before. "She" had short black hair, that came down above "her" shoulder, hair that was too long to be a boys, and almost too short to be a girls. If it weren't for "her" slender shape, "her" chest, and "her" voice, Sasuke would have thought it was a boy.

"Give up... We're at about an equal stature. This fight has become a matter of stamina, and seeing as I'm younger, it would be technical if I won."

The voice of Naruto's jutsu rang in the empty room, ricocheting off the walls. The sound of "her" voice surprised him. It was brutally cold, yet calm, and mellow. Like sitting out in the slowly falling snow. Not necessarily uncomfortable, it just made your skin crawl like it was something unnatural about it.

He couldn't see "her" face, only "her" delicate outline and he saw "her" fingers move ever so gracefully, barley touching the pouch that rested on "her" leg, but Sasuke did notice the object "she" took out of it, glinting in what little light was present.

And then "she" stepped forward into the light. Sasuke immediately noticed that "she" was but a child, younger than him by maybe a year or so. That wasn't normal…Naruto always chose.... more mature girls and for very perverse reasons.

'Maybe it isn't Naruto,' Sasuke suddenly wondered.

Before Sasuke could take another glance "her" way, "she" suddenly disappeared, and Sasuke found himself holding his breath, realizing that not even Kakashi could move that fast, let alone Naruto. And then the room fell silent. It seemed hollow, begging for the familiar sound of metal against metal, lighting tiny sparks. And soon, that's exactly what filled Sasuke's ears. He could see the sparks that the small knives made as they hit each other, but the "girl" and Kakashi were moving too fast for him to see them.

Sasuke was shocked at how quickly the two where moving and wondered if he should step in. There was no chance in HELL that Naruto could fight this well, let alone pick a child as for his jutsu. This "girl"… was obviously not Naruto. He watched the fight, looking for an opening, and barely moving from where he stood in front of the door. Suddenly, he heard a dull thud as something hit the wall opposite him. Kakashi fell to the ground, the girl standing in front of him, a kunai pressed to his neck.

Sasuke was shocked to say the least, though his expression didn't show it.

This girl…this…this CHILD, had defeated Kakashi single handedly. No help what so ever. The only thing that went through Sasuke head, as a ninja was:

Danger.

Without a second thought, Sasuke grabbed a shuriken and dove for her, while her back was still turned to him.

His footsteps suddenly filled the once again silent room, and the girl heard him approach, turning around and swinging Sasuke's shuriken out of his hand, without any effort. The force of her hit threw Sasuke backwards and he used the momentum to back flip, using his hand to anchor himself, and landing on his feet, only to grab another knife and run at her, but she caught his wrist this time, holding it an inch from her face.

"Who are you?" she asked, monotonously, breaking the silence after several tense seconds. Odd, why would she want to know? An assassin doesn't need the name of her victim. Nor would she not have something that hid her identity, such as a mask. Meaning that she couldn't be an assassin… And why would she want to attack Kakashi?

"I could ask the same thing," Sasuke replied. She threw his hand away from her face and he once again slid backwards, only to sprint forward again, but this time, Kakashi stepped in front of the girl, stopping Sasuke in his tracks.

"That's enough, Sasuke."

Confusion over took him. They were just going to let her leave? And then Kakashi turned around and shook hands with the enemy.

"Very nice", he said, complimenting the girl in her efforts.

"So I pass?" she asked clearly.

"It's fine. I've never seen your style of fighting," answered Kakashi. He still seemed to be in shock after hitting the wall.

"I've made a couple moves myself, it's nice to have something only I can do. Like a secret weapon, or a trump card," she said now staring at Sasuke, who looked her straight in the eyes.

She had a slender face, and when ever she moved her head, he could see that her hair was not black but dark brown with almost red-like reflections. Her bangs fell on the left side of her face, above her right eye, and her hair was shoulder lengthed and filled with big bouncy waves. Sasuke thought that she was wearing peculiar clothes, but upon closer inspection, everything she wore seemed to have a purpose.

She had a long sleeved, white corset, tied together between her breasts. A short coat or shoulder covering lay on her shoulders, stopping after the chest. A circle was cut out of the back, and the collar came up to her chin. She wore a pair of black shorts, covered with a white skirt, a circle cut out of the front and back as well, ending in a scallop cut. The nettings on her legs opposed each other, one coming down to her mid thigh, the other coming up to right below her knee. Her boots were elegant, three black circles outlining each of the outsides of her shoes. It was quite a modern look on the younger girl, probably making her appear older than she really was. Crisp and cleanly cut, he was certain her cold and precise appearance wasn't just caused by the contrast of black and white.

Sasuke noticed something that looked like a dog collar hanging around her neck. A small, white painted medallion hung off of it, and every time she moved it clinked. His eyes would have skipped over it, seeing as it was half hidden beneath the mini coat she was wearing, but the light glanced off of it just right and shone into his eyes.

Something was etched into its smooth surface, but Sasuke wasn't close enough to see it.

She looked intimidating with her emotionless face. However, it was her eyes interested him the most. The pale white color was staring through him, giving him shivers. Surrounded by a think line of black along the pupil, they appeared to be flecked in gold, but Sasuke blamed the bad lighting, and looked away. She looked as if as if she could stare a hole through your head with one glance. A chill once again slipped up his spine when he stared at her…There was something unnatural about her. Something orderly, and robotic. Something empty.


	2. Chapter 2

**My Solitary Hope**

**Chapter 2**

"Hello." She said, staring at him. Something was different about her, but Sasuke couldn't place it.

"Hi, I'm Sasuke Uchiha." He replied without much thought. He was too intimidated to think about what he was saying.

"I'm Kodoku Na Kibou. It's nice to meet you."

"Yeah, sure." He replied, still staring. Kakashi's low chuckle brought him out of his reverie, and he looked up at him.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Noting, nothing. Well Kodoku here is a new student here at this school as of today, and she's also going to be taking those extra classes with us." he said looking in the other direction.

"Oh. So THAT'S what that was about." He replied, looking back at Kodoku. He still couldn't figure out how she'd managed to beat Kakashi.

To his surprise Kodoku wasn't there anymore. He looked around the room, searching for her. She was walking towards the front row of the classroom, and she set a bag down next to the last desk. Sasuke followed her example and picked up his bag along the way and set it down next to his usual seat. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kakashi walk over to Kodoku, and lean over her shoulder, giving her some equipment, such as kunai, and giving her tips, before pulling out a piece of paper and a pencil.

Something was bothering him, something that he couldn't quite place his finger on, but he ignored it. He pulled out his written work from the night before, set it on the desk, and waited for Kakashi to finish explaining the basics. He felt bad for the new girl. She was going to have to learn everything in the few months to come for the Chunin exams, but at least she knew how to fight well. To his surprise, Kakashi then turned around and sat down in a chair next to him.

"Alright Sasuke, let's see if you have what we did yesterday down."

"But isn't she going to work on something else?"

"She is. She's studying what you studied a few nights ago. At the end of class, well see if she can do it. Now, let's get started."

"Oh. Alright." He said turning back towards his desk. He lifted his hands and lifted two fingers on his left hand, closing his eyes tightly.

"Sharigan." he whispered and then opened his eyes, which where now red. He tried to hold it for as long as possible, but the small action wore him out after several seconds.

"That's a record. 32 seconds… You know what? Change of plans. Kodoku, could you come here a moment?" Kakashi asked. Kodoku didn't look up from her paper, but instead, stood, still caring her paper and walked over to the desk.

"I'm not promising anything." Kodoku said staring at the paper, then back up at Kakashi, "But I think I can do the first six on the list."

"What?"

"I said I can do the first five on the list."

Kakashi grabbed the paper from her hands, and then looked back up at the girl, then back at the paper.

"That's not possible. You said you taught yourself. If so, then you never went over the basics. It should take you a couple weeks of practice, no matter how good you are."

"However, I'll have trouble with number seven." Kodoku continued, "I have a funny kind of chakra."

At this, both Kakashi and Sasuke looked up at her in a confused fashion.

"What?"

"Well, it's something that I should have told you earlier, or that you'd know if you read my file."

Sasuke stared her straight in the eyes, and something unnerved him again. She placed the piece of paper in front of him. The title read "Basics". He read through the rules and their tests and listened to her words as she explained.

"Well, I'm from a very… different village, and I may not have normal chakra, but I have something close to it. I can use it in the same ways, so I suppose it's still possible for me to  
accomplish the task, but I'll be using it differently." she replied vaguely, smiling sheepishly.

"That's impossible. There's only one kind of chakra." said Kakashi calmly.

"Implausible" Kodoku corrected.

"No, I really mean impossible. You have chakra points and the like, it's the only way."

"Then tell me how I can do this." she said, closing her eyes.

When she opened them she lifted her hand to her eye level and bunched her hand up into a fist. Then she released her hold and from the center of her palm grew a black sphere, it grew until it was larger then her hand. Kakashi and Sasuke stared in complete shock at the ball surrounding her hand. She let the ball dissipate and looked back up to her audience.

"See?"

"To be able to concentrate so much chakra into such a small amount of space! We'll have to take you to the Kage. There's not much I can teach you. We'll have to contact the Kage of your village and get your parents permission to perhaps be taught under the Hokage."

Sasuke's eyes met Kodoku's and his voice caught in his throat. She suddenly looked terrified. And it wasn't the first time he noticed that something was different about her but wasn't able to place it. He spun around and looked behind him, thinking that she'd seen something there, but was nothing. He turned back around and faced her, but her face was back to normal. However, the fear was still present in her eyes; her pale blue eyes…Wait a second.

Blue…?

He blinked and they were back to green as quickly as they had turned blue. Sasuke was too shocked to do anything. He stood from his chair, and it fell backwards.

"You- your eyes! They changed color!"

Kakashi shot a worried glance at Kodoku.

"Of course not, Sasuke. What are you talking about?"

"Her eyes. They went from green to blue to green!"

"That's preposterous, Sasuke. Who has eyes that can change color?" Kakashi stated with a laugh, and Sasuke could find no trace of uneasiness in his eyes. But then again, Kakashi was an educated ninja…He wouldn't show those kinds of emotions.

"I do," Sasuke suddenly retorted childishly, "With the Sharigan."

"Kodoku doesn't HAVE the Sharigan. She's from another village." Kakashi smiled beneath his mask again,"Sasuke, maybe beating your record was a little too for you."

"But I'm SURE her eyes changed color..." Sasuke repeated.

Kakashi smiled sadly, "Do you want to skip lessons for today, so that you can rest? Maybe it's lack of sleep that's making you see things."

"I'm fine, but I know what I saw, and I saw her eyes change color." Sasuke replied, crossing his arms.

"Alright, you're tired. Go home and rest." Kakashi said standing in between Sasuke and Kodoku.

"Sasuke, if you don't mind, I'd like to stay a little longer. Thank you for being so kind today. I hope to see you at school tomorrow." Kodoku said flatly, as if the decision was final.

"Yeah, bye Sasuke. See you tomorrow." Kakashi said smiling and showing him the way towards the door.

He closed the door in his face, and Sasuke was too confused to argue with him. He walked forward a few steps then stopped as he heard someone groan from back in the room.

"Why!?" it was Kodoku's voice.

"Shhhhh!" Kakashi answered, and then after a moment of silence, he asked "Why what?"

"Why do you need to contact my Kage? She'll never accept the offer. She doesn't even want me HERE. The last Kage is the one who sent me."

"That's not really our problem right now…" Kakashi said, his voice low.

"What if Sasuke tells someone?" she asked, suddenly realizing what was going on.

"It's fine, he probably thinks he's tired."

That was when Sasuke realized that he actually was.

He stopped listening to the rest of the conversation; he had heard enough to make up his mind on what he was going to do next. He walked over to the front entrance and sat down by the door. He was going to wait for her to come out. He wanted answers. And he wanted them NOW.


	3. Chapter 3

**My Solitary Hope**

**Chapter 3**

Night fell and Sasuke drifted in and out of a restless sleep. They still hadn't come out of the building, and Sasuke was getting more and more impatient with every passing minute.

Suddenly, footsteps began echoing down the hallway. He could immediately tell that who ever it was, was alone. Only one person, and by the sound of it, they didn't weigh much. He could barley hear the tapping of the sole on the tile floor as it got closer.

He immediately back up against the wall, and held his breath. The door opened slightly, and someone peeked out of the crack. He recognized her hair color, even with the dark blue tint of the night sky. Kodoku walked out silently from the building and walked across the gravel pathway all the way to the dirt road.

Sasuke followed quietly behind her, keeping a safe distance. He wanted to see where she as going before asking her anything. To his surprise, she suddenly turned left and walked straight into the forest.

Sasuke became suspicious, but followed her anyways, jumping from tree branch to tree branch. He found it unnatural how none of her steps made the leaves shake at all. Not even the slightest tremor. He tried to copy her steps, but still found himself moving leaves. He stared down at his feet, trying to land on his toes. When he looked back up, she was gone. He searched around franticly, but she was no where to be seen.

"Why are you following me?" came a cold voice from directly behind him. She didn't sound mad, but the tone would have scared anyone.

He turned around and was met face to face with Kodoku herself. His eyes searched her face and something unnerved him, but he found what he was looking for. Green eyes. Maybe he had imagined it after all…

"I have a couple of questions for you." Sasuke answered quietly.

Suddenly, it hit him, what had been bothering him all day about this girl. She wasn't drooling. She wasn't ogling at him. If anything, she was glaring at him. She wasn't squealing his name and blushing. It unnerved him how unusual it felt. Kodoku broke the silence.

"…I'm not promising answers, but I'll listen."

"Alright. Well, first of all, back there, did your eyes really turn blue?"

"No. I have no idea where you got that from."

"Ok so, why did they turn blue?"

"Are you deaf? I said they didn't." she said, her placid expression not changing and not moving.

"Just answer the question."

Kodoku stared Sasuke down for a whole minute before continuing.

"Alright, fine. Come with me." and with that she jumped off of the branch and started going in the same direction as she had started.

Sasuke had a hard time keeping up, but he managed, and Kodoku eventually began to swerve to the left. Suddenly, he broke through the forest, and thick branches. In front of him stood a giant house, with the words "Royal Welcomes" etched in gold in the front.

"What are we doing here?" asked Sasuke perplexed.

"I live here. You tell anyone about this, and you're dead. Got it?" she replied, with out hatred, and the effect somehow made the threat more malicious.

"Why?"

"I don't like it."

"Wait a second. You're royalty then." He said, more as a statement then a question.

Kodoku hesitated, but finally responded.

"Not exactly."

"Then what are you?"

"I can't tell you."

"To hell with that. I suppose you're already telling me things that you shouldn't, right?"

"It's not that you shouldn't know. It's that I don't want you to know."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't like who I am." She replied as if the answer was a simple one.

"Look, I don't really care. I just want to know why your eyes change color."

Kodoku seemed to ponder the idea.

"Fine…but you can't tell a single person. Or else you'll die. And I'll make sure of it personally."

"Alright," Sasuke answered, sure she was joking due to the small smile that tugged at her lips.

"Ever heard of the Tasainame No Kanjou?"

"Yes."

"You have?" Kodoku looked slightly shocked, and it bothered Sasuke when he realized that this was the first time she showed some other type of reaction other than cold, harsh silence.

"Yeah…Aren't they a hidden tribe? No one knows where they are located, but apparently they're very good in battle, but refuse to fight in wars for fear of winning. They don't want control. They just want peace. In my opinion, they're too full of themselves, thinking they will always win. It's ridiculous." Sasuke said, telling her as much as he knew, trying to gain a little more of her trust.

"Yeah. That's them." Kodoku said with a short chuckle, and Sasuke paled a bit, "Well, I'm from there. I know it seems hard to believe but it's true. And well to make a long story short – "

"I don't want the short version, I want the true version."

Kodoku sighed, and Sasuke couldn't help but find it unbefitting of her.

"Fine, but I'm not saying anything out here. Come, but don't say anything to anyone about this." And with that she turned back towards the large building and stepped up onto the wooden porch.

Sasuke followed, trying his best to be inconspicuous. He didn't like this place. It was too happy, too joyful, too fake, too… he couldn't find the right word, but it just bothered him. She knocked on the door, and after a few seconds, it was opened.

The girl who opened the door was beautiful, and even Sasuke had to admit it, gasping quietly when his eyes fell upon her face. She had a perfect complexion, not a single blemish on her sun colored skin, even though she was slightly paler than most people in the village. Her blonde hair was curled into big waved, and it framed her slender face falling over her shoulders and half way down her back. Tender glints of red and brown bounced off of it every time she moved. She wore the opposite of Kodoku; a bright attire, while Kodoku was clad in black and red.

The girl wore a dark blue kimono and a similar colored obi, with a lighter kimono beneath. Designs in golden thread woven into roses that complimented her every curve, and three bracelets clinked quietly against her wrist, also in gold.

Upon setting her eyes on Kodoku, her face broke into an irresistible smile, her teeth perfectly aligned, and Sasuke couldn't help it. He fell in love at first sight.

"Hey Kodoku." She said brightly, her voice resembling wind chimes.


	4. Chapter 4

**My Solitary Hope**

**Chapter 4**

Kodoku didn't reply, but the corners of her mouth twitched into an almost unnoticeable smile. The girl seemed to take this gesture as something, and immediately disappeared out of the door way.

Sasuke heard her voice ring again deeper in the household, but she was talking to someone else. He didn't have time to stand there, and he wondered why she had just left, but his mind was thrown off course as Kodoku grabbed his arm and pulled him into the house. She moved quickly down the giant hallway and he was overtaken by the formalness of the area.

He wished he could stand there longer and admire the place, but Kodoku had no intentions of waiting. She silently moved on and into another room, this one surprising Sasuke even more, and then to the back corner, where a stair case resided.

Quickly but silently, Kodoku dragged him up the stairs and down a long hallway to another set of stairs. Once on the third floor, Kodoku went down the hallway again, to the last room, and pulled out a key from the pouch on her thigh. Slipping it into the key hole, she turned it and the door opened without a sound. She placed the key back in her pouch just as footsteps began mounting the second set of stairs.

"Kodoku? Is that you?" asked an unfamiliar voice.

Kodoku pushed Sasuke into the darkroom, flipping the light switch on, yelling back.

"Yeah, what do you want?" then she turned around and whispered.

"Hide in the bathroom, and don't come out until I say so. And don't say anything, or do anything, no matter what you see!" And with that, she slid back out into the hallway and shut the door.

Sasuke stared at the room that he had been placed in. The walls were a pale crème color, with little red Chinese character signs that he immediately recognized as the word 'pain', 'sorrow', 'love', 'happiness', and other words like that.

The room was actually quite simple for a royalty room, and Sasuke wondered if Kodoku had changed it any, because it looked out of place compared to the ones below.

However, its plain aura gave it a more homey feeling, and Sasuke immediately felt at easy. In the corner of the room, there was a king sized bed, covered in burgundy and crème sheets, and next to it, a little table, on which stood a glass of water, and a book. Several book shelves lined the walls as well as a closet in which, Sasuke guessed, Kodoku placed her clothes. A door led out of the room, and Sasuke assumed it was the bathroom. As he took a step towards it, he heard the voice of a man outside the door, and panicking, he turned around and hid in the clothes closet instead. Shutting the door, he realized that he could still see out of the crack in between the doors. Then he listened intently to the voices outside the door.

"Kodoku?"

"Yeah, I'm home."

"Oh. I was wondering where you were." The man said hesitantly, opening the door behind her, and backing her into the room.

Sasuke was surprised, especially with the way Kodoku was acting. Every time the man took a step forward, Kodoku took one backwards. Sasuke caught a glimpse of him from the crack in the closet doors. He was at least 8 years older then Kodoku, and Sasuke would have guessed him to be approximately in his high twenties, and he had golden blond hair. Standing approximately 2 feet higher than she did, he looked down on her with an air of dominance that disturbed Sasuke. He looked…familiar.

"Just at school, catching up on extra lessons."

"So you weren't with anybody?" the man asked, an accusing look on his face as he twirled a piece of her silky hair in his fingers.

"No, except my teacher of course, and another student who was taking extra lessons, but that's all,".

"Kodoku, don't get too attached, alright? I don't want to loose you." He said hugging her in a too familiar way that made Sasuke wonder what their relationship was. He couldn't be her lover, he was way too old… Right?

"You know? I was lonely while you were gone." He whispered, but Sasuke heard anyway.

"Don't." was all Kodoku replied to the man's innocent comment, yet the way she said it, with out any emotion, made it seem like more of a threat than it should have been.

"What are you going to do about it if I do?" he asked. The silence went on even longer, and he supposed that Kodoku was pondering her options, but she never answered.

"That's right, you can't do anything about it. Huh?" the man said, backing her up against the wall, one hand on each side of her body. Sasuke could only see the back of the man, and Kodoku's face. By instinct, he looked at her eyes. They we're green, as usual, with they're golden specks, and her face was the same as always, placid. Her eyes darted to the bathroom door so quickly that Sasuke debated on whether it had actually happened or not. To Sasuke's surprise, the man suddenly moved his hand from her side and put it under her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze.

When he pressed his lips to hers, Sasuke had to blink several times to make sure he was not imagining it. Kodoku fought him, and tried to pull her face away, but he held her head to his. When he let go, Kodoku pushed him away sharply and wiped her mouth on her sleeve.

"I said don't. I'm not your toy. Someday, someone will find out, and then – "

"And then what?" the man asked smirking, "Who's going to find out anyways? If you tell anyone, then that precious sister of yours is dead,"

'Sister?'

Kodoku's eyes immediately darted to the bathroom door again, turning red with a faded black around the edges, but only for a fraction of a second. Sasuke was confused. It almost looked like the Sharigan, but it wasn't possible for her to have it. And her eyes had turned blue earlier.

Sasuke looked back outside as he advanced on her again. He tried pressing his lips to hers, and this time, before she could hit him he pinned her arms over her head, and placed his knee between her legs, restricting any movement from her. She muffled a protest, and Sasuke wondered if he should help, but her words rang in his mind.

'Don't say anything, or do anything, no matter what you see.'

…Was this what she had meant? A knock at the door increased his worrying, as the man jumped back and Kokoku's arms fell to her sides. Kodoku spit onto the man's shoes, and wiped her mouth off with her sleeve again, whispering curse words under her breath.

"Kodoku? Are you there?" asked a voice that resembled wind chimes.


	5. Chapter 5

**My Solitary Hope**

**Chapter 5**

Sasuke recognized it from the girl who had opened the door. The man sneered and walked towards the exit, opened the door and met face to face with the beautiful blonde haired girl.

"Yeah, she's here what do you need?" he asked in such a kind tone, that Sasuke would never had guessed his true intentions of being in the room if he had not seen it himself.

"I just wanted to talk to her." The girl said smiling brightly.

"Oh, alright." He said, then turned around and said "I'll be back later tonight," with a straight face.

He left the room and walked down the hallway as the girl came in.

"What was dad doing in your room?" she asked, genuinely curious.

'…Dad? DAD?! That man was Kodoku's father?! And this girl was her sister?! Why was her father of all people doing that to his daughter?! Wait, maybe it's just the girl's dad and not Kodoku's. Of course, that had to be it.' thought Sasuke, his mouth hanging open.

"Just asking about my day." Kodoku murmured, and to Sasuke's surprise, he noticed that she enunciated the words. Was she enunciating because she was lying?

"Awww…Well at least he's making an effort right?"

Kodoku ignore the question.

"So, why are you here?" she asked instead.

"Who was he?" the girl asked in a quieter voice.

Kodoku stood from her bed and shut the door of her room, locking it. She walked towards the bathroom door, and for a moment, Sasuke was confused before realizing that she was looking for him. Quietly, he came out of her closet as she reached for the door knob.

"I'm here," he said quietly.

Both of the girls whipped their heads around, and Kodoku's hand was at the pouch hanging off of her leg faster then Sasuke could have blinked, and then as soon as she recognized him, it was gone just as quickly. She didn't answer, but stared him straight in the eyes. Sasuke lost himself in their blue depth…once again blue, and not green…

Now he knew that they had changed.

She looked down at the floor quickly, as if in shame, and the girl looked from Kodoku to Sasuke.

"Well?" she asked.

"He goes to our school." Kodoku said without looking up.

"Oh…Then why is he here?" she asked, her face a little more serious, but still beautiful.

"He's figured it out." Kodoku said, still as a statue.

The girl did a double take on Sasuke, and stayed there in shock, as Kodoku continued.

"Sasuke, meet Yuki, my sister."

"…Sister?! Then that man was your father?! Then why did he – "

"Yuki, this is Sasuke." Kodoku said, raising her voice so as to cut him off, almost yelling.

"It's nice to meet you!" Yuki said smiling brightly again, holding her hand out.

"Same." replied Sasuke, a little confused, shaking her hand.

"Hey Yuki…Could you – "

"Yeah, sure. I'll bring it up in about an hour." Yuki cut her off and walked out of the room.

Kodoku followed her and shut the door silently, locking it and pressing her forehead against the cold wood. Sasuke felt the tension in the air, and didn't want to force her to talk so instead he waited.

"He's not my dad." Kodoku said after much thought and taking a deep breath "Sit down and I'll explain."

Sasuke did as he was told and sat down on her bed, facing Kodoku. She didn't move, but kept her forehead to the door, and her back facing him. Once again, she took a deep breath, and then continued.

"There's a legend…A prophecy that, lately, has been rather disturbing in my village," Kodoku began, "During a time of world war, two children will be born within the Tasainame No Ka**n**jou village, with eyes that change color according to there emotions to show that they have no mercy when killing. They will be born as to protect their village, even though the village itself will not want to fight, but will have no choice. These children are called the Unisons, and they will fight for freedom, for peace, and for unification."

"What's that got to do with any of this? It's a legend…But…" Sasuke thought a moment, "You're eyes change color…with emotions?"

Kodoku moved on, subtly avoiding the question, "I'm the second child, and I have an elder brother, older by ten years. My brother and I are both children of the Kage of the Tasainame No Kanjou Village.

When I was born, the doctors had predicted that I would be a boy, and everyone in my family was ecstatic, except Hiroshima, my brother, because the youngest son always got the inheritance, as well as the position for Kage.

Obviously, I turned out to be a girl, and then the emotions of my family switched. The Royal court, my parents, and the rest of my family looked down upon me, thinking of me as a bad omen. Even my brother was somewhat disappointed, but Hiroshima grew to like me a lot, since I was a girl and wouldn't be stealing his inheritance.

Natashiwa, my mother, and the Kage of the Tasainame No Kanjou village went on a year long trip to Kohona, soon after my birth, and here, she had a secret affair with a man, and she had another child with him, my step sister, Yuki.

At the time, I didn't know it, and neither did anyone in the Na Kibou family. She returned the next year, and requested that a man and a little girl lived in the village, but not in the Kage's tower with the Kage because she was afraid that her husband would find out. Now that I think back on it, I wonder why no one noticed when she asked that they change village." She said, reminiscing.

"Anyways, I was blamed for Yuki turning out to be a girl, seeing as I brought bad luck to my mother all this time."

Sasuke stared at the floor, and took in what she was saying.

"That's completely unfair." He finally stated, wanting to say something, but not finding anything acceptable.

Kodoku let out a dry laugh before saying, "You think that's unfair? My mother tried to kill me when I was seven… She said she was sick and tired of putting up with me, and I'd be dead if it weren't for my brother, who found me after she stabbed me. She ended up leaving the position of Kage. We thought she'd gone insane, especially when she went off to live with Yuki and the man with whom she had an affair. My father, Kidame Na Kibou, took over the position of Kage, even though he was mortified that his wife had had an affair.

"I grew up a tomboy under my brother's care, because my father was too busy all the time. He blamed the loss of his wife on me as well.

"Three months after my mother left, my dad committed suicide.

"My brother was given the spot of Kage even though he lacked proper training, and was only 17. The village was in chaos after the quick and sudden loss of two Kages and now they were suspicious about putting someone so young and inexperienced up to the job, but he surprised everyone and pulled the job off rather well. Under his rule, the village prospered greatly, and the villagers soon loved him.

"A week after my eighth birthday I started showing extraordinary chakra signs. It was kept secret from the public, and my brother took me to the elders, and I was immediately relocated here for better practice and because of fear of a prophecy…The one I just told you about. The Unsions.

"They figured that if they got rid of me, then there would be no war. I'm fact my death was their first option, but Hiroshima had refused, since my eyes still didn't change color, and they couldn't be sure. The people of my village looked up to my brother, so for the Royal court to go against him would have proved fatal."

"You mean if your eyes HAD started changing color, he would have had you killed?" Sasuke asked.

"No, I doubt it. He might have snuck me out of the country, but I guess I'll never know." And Sasuke nodded at her reply.

"Yuki was relocated here for the same reason. I think my brother would have killed her without hesitation…In fact, back then, I would have done the same. I was mad at her… Mad at her for stealing my parents away. But if Hiroshima killed her because she was like me, he'd have to kill me as well. He didn't want that, so instead, he agreed to let her come with me to Kohona.

"When we went to announce my departure to my mother, she refused to see us and had her servant tell us that she hated us and didn't want to speak with us, because she thought we were stealing Yuki away from her.

"I moved here about two months ago, since it took 5 years to get me up to date on fighting, and even 1 extra year to get the papers signed and such, and I was moved with Yuki.

"My mother was slightly disappointed that Yuki was leaving, but to be honest, she was more interested in gaining her position as Kage back, now that she no longer had her daughter. But my brother refused, angry that Natashiwa had an affair with her husband. In his anger, he became selfish, and decided that Yuki and I couldn't leave alone, so he insisted that Yuki's father come with us…That left Natashiwa, my mother, alone. She had no more daughter, she had no more husband, and then she decided that she wanted to be Kage again. But the village refused, because they loved my brother.

"Yuki and I became very close while practicing, and on our way to Kohona, I explained the prophecy to her, and why we were being moved. I pitied her… I realized that I couldn't hate her, no matter how much my mother loved her. It wasn't her fault."

"So then…That man was Yuki's father…Your step father."

"Yes, as a revenge of sorts for what my brother did, James takes advantage of me." Kodoku said, still facing the door, but Sasuke saw her bring her hand up to her face.

"Sometimes it just simple things like this…Sometimes…It's r-rape." Kodoku's voice broke as she said the word.

Sasuke hadn't realized that she was crying, until she turned around, and he could see her cheeks. Her face didn't reflect agony…just placidness…But her eyes…her eyes reflected how strong she was. He could see that she wasn't afraid, just tired of being pushed around…weary.

Sasuke stayed silent for awhile, not knowing what to say and letting her regain her composure.

For the first time in his life, he was speechless…


	6. Chapter 6

**My Solitary Hope**

**Chapter 6**

"So you want me to help?" he asked quietly, thinking ahead, staring at the wooden floor.

"No. Anything but. I don't want your help or anyone else's. Not even Yuki knows." Kodoku replied, breathing in slowly, and wiping her face.

"But isn't she his daughter?"

"Yeah. And he's a great father for her, since he hasn't shown her this side of him. He threatens to hurt her if I tell anyone."

"So why'd you tell me?"

"Would you have been satisfied with what you just saw and heard without an explanation, or would you have come to the wrong conclusion?" she bit back almost bitterly, but not quite.

Sasuke pondered the question before replying.

"No, you're right. I guess I would have asked until you would have answered a couple questions, which would have made it more confusing." He said, leaning forward and placing his weight on legs and placing his head in his hands, staring at the ground, frustrated that he's just been cornered "But why don't you tell the Kage for example. Then they could put Yuki under protection."

"They wouldn't have enough time… James would know. And secondly, who is the person that the Kage is going to call?"

"Well since that man is only your step father, then she'd contact … your mother, right?"

"Exactly… What would my mother do about it? She hates me."

"But she loves James, doesn't she? And what about that brother of yours?"

Kodoku immediately went silent.

"He disappeared… the day after Yuki and I left. They think it was murder…I think it was my mother. Since she killed him, the village had no choice but to go back to her for help, since she used to be Kage."

"Oh…" was all Sasuke said, "What about other relatives?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"I have none, or at least none that don't live in the village, or don't want me dead."

"So, then…it's either your step-father or an orphanage?"

"No. It's my father, since I have no proof."

"Well, aren't I proof enough?"

"No. If you were to tell the Kage, then James would immediately know, and Yuki would be in danger."

Every time Sasuke heard her say the name 'James', he kept remembering something, but it escaped him just before he could grasp it.

"Then don't have her move in with the Kage. Have her move in with a friend."

"I've been here for approximately two months… Do you really think I know anybody well enough to ask them to keep my sister over without having to explain myself?" she said angrily.

_What's wrong with her? _Sasuke thought to himself.

"Then have her move in with me." Sasuke said simply.

_What the hell did I just say?_ He thought.

Kodoku did a double take.

"What?"

"Why not?"

"Hell no!" Kodoku replied menacingly. Sasuke wondered why she could be so mad.

"And if she were to move out for protective reasons, he would get suspicious, and you could be charged with kidnapping."

"You really thought this through, huh?" Sasuke replied, kind of glad that she had rejected the offer. _'A girl? In his house? What would his parents say?'_

"Yeah. I'm sorry, but please forget I said anything." Kodoku said quietly.

"Forget? You expect me to just forget? But it's not right!"

"I know it isn't, but there's nothing I can do." She said solemnly.

"But it's sexual harassment! You have to tell someone." He said standing up, and taking a step towards the door.

Kodoku was up faster then he could see, and she pressed her back to the door, hissing quietly, her red eyes tinged on the edges with black.

"Don't make me regret what I've told you." She said menacingly, and Sasuke almost felt scared. Almost… but not quite.

"…Why?"

"Because, I don't want to have to stop you. I swear I'll stop at –"

"No, why do your eyes change color? It's kinda creepy."

"What? Oh… They change with my emotions. I can usually keep my eyes the same color easily, but lately it's been almost impossible to do. I have certain periods in my life where my chakra weakens dramatically, only to soar higher after a month…This is one of those periods. The Kage called it a 'transition period'"

"Who's the other Unison? You said there were two."

Kodoku stared at him for a long time before replying.

"I don't know." She finally stated, looking back down at the ground.

"Bullshit."

"No, actually don't know…But I think it might be Yuki."

"Oh. Look, you know what? I'm not going to force you to go into anymore detail than necessary."

"Thanks. You've made this easier then I thought it would be."

"What did I make easier?"

"I always thought that the person I would tell would freak out and go tell on me immediately." She said, sighing in relief. It was silent a while longer, and Sasuke's gaze wandered to the window. It was dark outside.

"I should be leaving."

"Yes, you should. Your parents will get worried"

Sasuke stiffened, remembering that his brother had promised to teach him a jutsu that night, and it wasn't often that Itachi had the time. How could he have been so stupid?

"Do I just go out the front door?" he asked.

"Oh right." Kodoku said standing up as well, and opening the door of her room, "Here, follow me."

And with that she walked through the door way, and Sasuke followed her. They arrived at what appeared to be a back door.

"Just go straight through the forest, and you'll get to the main road." Kodoku said, opening the door.

Sasuke stepped out after thanking her, just as Yuki turned the corner with a plate of food. He gave her a quick smile and she smiled back, and then he left.

Kodoku shut the door and sighed.

"What's wrong?" Yuki asked, stepping up to Kodoku.

"Nothing. He just knows about me now. I need you to keep an eye on him at school for me. You know? To make sure he doesn't spill, and if you think he's capable of keeping the secret, then we can keep him. If not, he dies. Okay?"

"You make him sound like a pet… But okay." Yuki replied, looking slightly dismayed. She didn't like killing innocent people, but she knew that if information got out about her sister, a Unison, being in Kohona, assassins would be sent from other villages, and her sister would be killed.

She gave the plate to Kodoku and walked back off to the living room, downstairs.

"Oh, by the way. Dad said he'd be up here in 20 minutes so you had better be ready. He said you'd know what I was talking about."

Kodoku smiled slightly and thanked her sister for passing on the message on before walking into her own room as well.

She had to get out of here before he came up. She wrapped her food in a cloth and jumped out the window, heading to the park.


	7. Chapter 7

**My Solitary Hope  
**

**Chapter 7**

Kodoku tried to focus on the crunching sound of the stones beneath her feet instead of on the beating she knew she was going to receive when she got home. What was she thinking by running away for the night? Now she was going to have to give an excuse to her sister as well as an excusable one to her father. She sighed as the park came into her view on the near horizon.

Deep in her thoughts, she sat down on the nearest bench covered in peeling green paint, and pulled out her dinner; rice in a container, an apple, and little meat rolls. Something simple to make, yet her favorite. She smiled, thinking about how well her sister knew her, and about how she had made her favorite food without having been asked to. She mentally made a note to herself to thank her when she got back home. Now, onto more important things, what was she going to tell her father to get out of that beating? Nothing came to her mind, and she had finished her rice, moving onto the apple.

She bit into it and as she chewed, she felt someone else chakra. She froze, and slowed her chewing, trying to determine from where it was coming. It moved at a leisurely pace, and came from the south, straight towards her. She knew that they couldn't sense her chakra, since she had masked it, but she still felt vulnerable, and so, she kept an eye out for the intruder.

Still having no sufficient excuse, she threw the apple core over her shoulder and it landed with a thud as she placed her index finger on her lips trying to think of something. Just as she was coming on to something, the chakra intruder came through the trees. Kodoku absorbed his appearance with awe. He had blood red hair, contrasting against pale skin. His eyes were a teal and turquoise colors that were filled with menace, and they practically scared her, but not quite, because behind them, she could see the pain he held back. He seemed to have a tattoo on his forehead, but as he neared her, staring at the ground, she saw that it was actually engraved into his skin. He wore brown clothes and on his back, he had a giant gourd. Kodoku immediately thought back to what the Hokage had said.

'Stay away from the guy with red hair and green eyes. He's usually got a gourd on his back. You'll recognize him, 'cuz he looks like he'll kill you if you talk to him.'

Was this him? He didn't look like he could harm a thing. What did she say his name was again? Naruto? Kiba? Kankoru? No, those were the others. Was it Gaara? No, that wasn't right either….Wait! Suddenly, she was surrounded by sand and movement was restricted from her limbs.

"Who are you?"

Kodoku looked up to see the now impassive face of the boy. Where the hell had this sand come from? And why this guy's voice so velvety smooth?

"Who are you? Answer or I'll –"

"God you're impatient. Let go of me." Kodoku said, making the connection between the sand and the boy.

To her surprise, the boy did as he was told and she felt the small scratches on her arms from where the sand had rubbed.

"Who are you?" he asked again.

"You have no use for my name." Kodoku replied, wanting to tease the harmless kid, and also not very happy at what he'd just done.

She saw him clench his fist. Looks like he wasn't used to being disobeyed, and Kodoku was certain that this was the boy that the Hokage had been talking about. Perhaps he was too full of his looks to get things through his head.

"Yeah, and I have no use for your life either." He said the sand lifting behind him.

"Perhaps not my life, but you need a clean record to take the Chunnin exam." She said staring him straight in the eyes and tilting her head to the right innocently, her lips pressed into a thin smile.

"I'll find out who you are."

"I'm sure you'd like to know. Wouldn't you?"

The boy's expression faded from shock into a glare. Kodoku smiled quietly.

"Look, we started out on the wrong foot. I'm Kodoku. You?" she asked, putting her hand out between them.

"Gaara." Replied the boy, but he ignored her outstretched hand.

'So she had been right after all.'

"Well Gaara, it's nice to meet you."

"You're not from here." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"Neither are you." countered Kodoku.

Gaara seemed taken aback again by the fact that she was escaping his questions. It was quiet, the crickets chirping in the grass nearby, when Kodoku realized that she needed to go home.

"Do you know who I am?" the boy asked as she turned around.

"Your name's Gaara, right?" Kodoku replied.

"No, I meant, do you know what I am?"

"The one tailed jinchuuriki." Kodoku replied facing him completely.

"If you know, why are you still here?"

"Don't be so pretentious. It's not because you are strong that you can get away with this sort of crap."

Gaara's eyes opened slightly larger.

"You should be scared?"

"Me? Scared of…" she waved her hand in his direction "you looking like that? Look, if you want to scare people, you can't be that good looking." She said in complete seriousness.

"Good looking?" Gaara asked, pondering whether he had just been insulted or complimented.

"Huh? Oh, don't take that the wrong way, I don't like you or anything, but yes, you have a hard time pulling off the bad guy look." She said, raising a thin eyebrow. "Now, if you don't mind, I need to be off. My parents are awaiting my arrival at my house." and with that, she turned around and walked off into the forest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gaara P.O.V.

That girl was… odd.

It was as if she didn't exist. I didn't feel her chakra when she was within distance, not to mention she wasn't scared. It's not possible. Is this the jinchuuriki's doing? Am I imagining things now?

Gaara was perplexed as he made his way home, running into Sasuke during his short trip, acknowledging him with a nod. His mind wandered from his problems off to why Sasuke was out so late.


	8. Chapter 8

***~WARNING~***

***~THIS CHAPTER MAY CONTAIN SEXUAL CONTENT~***

**It's not anything too horrible, and it's NOT a sex scene, but consider yourself WARNED**

**My Solitary Hope**

**Chapter 8**

Cold, tired, and still excuseless, Kodoku turned the doorknob to the front of the large house. Pushing the door opened, not a sound echoed through the entire house. She peeked inside, and quietly turned on the lights, which flooded through the room, blinding her for a split second. She froze, and awaited the footsteps that she was sure were coming, but they never came. She let out the breath that she hadn't noticed she'd been holding and relaxed her shoulders. Walking silently towards the stairs, she made sure not to trip over the rug on the ground. When she arrived at the door of her room, she was no longer afraid of her father still being up, seeing as he had not woken up yet. She opened her door and stepped inside, turning her lights on.

"You're back."

Kodoku's body froze.

"Where've you been?" James asked casually.

Kodoku turned around to see James sitting on her bed, shirtless, in jeans, and he looked mad as hell. She didn't have anything to say, so she didn't answer him.

He acknowledged her silence and stood from the bed, walking silently over to her side. Kodoku backed away, but only so far as the door. He reached out and took a piece of her hair, bringing it too his lips that were centimeters away from her forehead.

"I've missed you." He breathed, and she felt the heat on her skin, a wave of chills making its way down her arms.

Kodoku's mouthed the word 'stop', but nothing came out. She tried again, a little louder this time.

"What?" asked James as he kissed her forehead.

"Stop." Kodoku said, finally audiblely.

"Stop what?" James asked pressing her back against the door with his body.

"Stop it. Don't." Kodoku said, finally regaining control of her body, and trying desperately to push him away, but failing miserably.

"Why should I stop?" he asked, bringing his lips down inches away from hers, and she stopped struggling, instead bringing her hands to her eyes and crying. She felt him grab her wrists and bring them down in one of his hands while the other glided down her neck.

"Shhhh. Don't cry. I won't hurt you." James said quietly, whispering in her ear, but Kodoku knew he was lying.

She was crying too much to pay any attention to him, yet she knew that she needed to stop him. As hard as she could, she pushed him away, and he stumbled backwards long enough for her to turn around and open the door, but he came behind her and shut it loudly. Locking it, he wrapped his arms around her waist, and lifted her off the ground, throwing her on the bed. He climbed on top of her and kissed her forcefully.

"R'member what happens to your sister if you fight me?" he asked, kissing down her neck as she struggled to get out of his grip.

"Stop! Please, stop!" Kodoku let out in a hoarse voice due to her tears. But James had no intention of stopping as he unbuttoned her shirt and threw it off her shoulders, dragging his nails down her arms, leaving small red lines as he silenced her protests with his lips. Kodoku almost gagged when his tongue was forced into her mouth as she felt one of his arms encircle her waist while the other held her hands above her head on the pillow.

"Stop fighting me. Think about your sister, and stop being so selfish." He said, giving her wrists a tight squeeze, and making her wince, but she didn't stop protesting.

"Fine, have it your way." James said as he got up off of her and walked over to the door. Kodoku's eyes widened. He wouldn't…

No, Kodoku knew he would.

"Stop…Please…Don't hurt Yuki."

James stopped in front of the door and turned back around, leaning on the door frame.

"I don't get why you're being so rebellious today… I guess I just need to remind you who's in charge." James said smirking, and walking forward until he knelt in front of her, as she sat on the bed.

"So…What do you want me to do?" he asked, smirking maliciously, but Kodoku didn't reply.

"Well then… If there's nothing you want me to do… I'll go see if Yuki's awake," he said, standing up.

Kodoku's eyes widened and she reached out, grabbing his arm, and he stopped.

"Hmmm?"

"Please…S-Sleep with m-me." Kodoku said with disgust… but she had to save her sister.

"Well, that doesn't sound cute at all…Say it like you mean it, and I might consider it." James replied, turning around and leaning forward, pecking Kodoku on the lips. Kodoku, fought her gagging reflex, and reluctantly tilted her head and in the cutest voice she could muster, she said "Please, s-sleep with me tonight." And when James didn't reply and gave her a disapproving stare, she continued, pouting with her bottom lip, "I'm scared…Please stay here tonight. I'm lonely."

She held back tears of agony… She was use to this, but it was the first time he'd made her ask. But she'd do anything to save her sister… So long as Yuki didn't get involved. Kodoku was tired of always being blamed… always being hated, and she couldn't stand it if Yuki hated her too…If Yuki turned against her, then she'd be alone.

A sudden lust filled James eyes and he leaned down and kissed her roughly, lightly biting her bottom lip from when she'd pouted. Forcing his tongue into her mouth, Kodoku fought the urge to bite it as it move around her mouth. She ignored his hands as they wrapped themselves around her waist, pulling her up closer to him, and then one began descending. When he pulled back, Kodoku turned onto her side and hid her face in a pillow trying to hide the tears that were now streaming down her face. James leaned forward and pressed his lips to her ear.

"Don't cry. I'll be gentle…" but the tone of voice he used showed that he wasn't serious. He wrapped an arm around her waist from behind and began unbuckling her belt, slipping a hand into her skirt.

"I want to hear you scream my name." he whispered from behind her.

"Y-Yuki will hear me." Kodoku cried, trying to find a way out of it.

"Fine then…Just be quiet while I fuck you." He said as he pulled her skirt down quickly and turned her around, climbing on top of her, "And remember that your sister's life is in danger if you fight back."

Kodoku let the tears fall down her face as she stopped struggling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yuki couldn't sleep that night. While walking back to her room, she'd glanced out of the kitchen window, and she'd caught sight of her sister running away towards the forest. The thought of stopping her didn't seem like a good thing at the moment, and Yuki was used to Kodoku's regular escapes, though she never understood why, so she continued on her way, to her room. Her father walked into the kitchen then, and she looked up at the sound of his footsteps.

"Did you tell her twenty minutes?" he asked, nicely.

"Yeah, she said she'll be ready." Yuki lied, glancing again out the window, to find her sister gone into the forest.

"Thanks." He replied, turning around and walking back into the living room.

Now that she was sleeping in bed, she was worried. Her sister still wasn't home, and her father had noticed. He had only sighed and told her to go to bed, but she still caught the slight frustration in his voice when he'd told her to leave. She was tempted to go knock on her sister's door, but what if she'd already gotten home, and was asleep? No, she'd rather not bother her sister, especially with school tomorrow. Later that night, however, Yuki heard her sister's door slam, and managed to get to sleep, thinking that her sister was angry over something, and didn't need anyone to talk to. She dozed off into semi consciousness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kodoku lay on the floor of her bathroom, crying until she couldn't anymore, covered with cold water. She had scratches all over her body, from where James father had hit her. She was so confused, so lost in the chaos, that she didn't know when he had left or what time it was. She knew she had her first day of school tomorrow, yet, she didn't want to sleep, for fear of the nightmares that would plague her mind. After taking in deep breathes, she used the wall for support as she practically crawled back to her bed, the sheets ripped and the pillows strewn about the large room. After pulling on an oversized shirt, she gathered the bed set, and placed it back on the bed, the tears still staining her face.

She stared at the pillows, and finally convinced herself that if she didn't get some sleep, she wouldn't be able to make it through tomorrow. Lying down on the bed, she was unable to close her eyes, let alone calm her mind. She stared at the moonlight playing with the shadows on her wall; the way they curved around the book shelf and the way the empty vase that stood by her window cast an odd shaped shadow on the ground. Finally, after at least an hour with nothing to do, she succumbed to her growing need for sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**My Solitary Hope**

**Chapter 9**

The next day, Yuki knocked on Kodoku's door, fully dressed with an apron and an entire breakfast on a platter that she was carrying.

"Good morning!" she said brightly, placing the tray on the table as she opened the curtains, much to Kodoku's dismay, as she made very clear by groaning as the light hit her eyes, with her fingers twitching.

"Come on sleepy head! Today is our first day at the Academy!" Yuki continued as she yanked the covers off of Kodoku's body, who whimpered as the cold air caressed her skin.

"I dun wanna." She murmured.

"Oh, Come on! We don't have time for this! Eat your breakfast!" she said cheerily, placing the tray in front of her sister.

As soon as the aroma of cinnamon rolls reached Kodoku's nose, she was up in a flash, rubbing her eyes, and staring at her breakfast, her mouth watering. She dug in, her hunger over powering her need for sleep.

"Where were you last night?" Yuki asked, turning her head and looking away.

"Ish wash ash thash parsch" Kodoku said, her mouth full.

Yuki laughed light heartedly, waiting for Kodoku to finish eating her mouthful of food.

"I was at the park." Kodoku said, after gulping down some orange juice. Placing her cup back down, Yuki noticed long scratches on Kodoku's arms.

"What happened?" she asked, pointing at the light red lines.

"Hmm? Oh, those, well you see…." Kodoku hesitated, trying to think of an excuse, "While I was at the park, this one guy named Gaara attacked me with this sand thing, and it rubbed on me so hard that it left scratch marks, but I'm fine. It doesn't hurt." Kodoku said, giving her sister an uncharacteristic smile.

Hey, it wasn't REALLY a lie. Some of those scars really were from Gaara. And Kodoku couldn't tell Yuki. She got out of bed after finishing her food, and Yuki went off to get ready for school as her sister got dressed. After making sure she had everything she needed, she walked down stairs, finding Yuki dressed in a kimono shirt, with short shorts underneath. Her head band was tied around her arm.

"Well let's go!" Yuki said, opening the door, and walking out.

Just as Kodoku stepped out, someone coughed behind her. She turned around and Yuki saw all of the color drain from her sister's face.

"Have fun at school girls!..." James said, ruffling Kodoku's hair with a smile and pausing, "… and don't get into any trouble." he continued, staring Kodoku straight in the eyes, which basically meant, 'You better not tell anyone what happened last night, and you better come home tonight.'

If Yuki hadn't grabbed Kodoku's arm and dragged her off the balcony, it wasn't certain that they would have made it on time to school. They entered their first class just as the bell rang.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Even if it was the first time meeting everybody for the girls, it wasn't for the other students, who had known each other for practically all their lives. A teacher walked in, and he had his brown hair pulled back in a pony tail, with a scar etched across his nose.

"Hello class. Today we have two new students. Please introduce yourselves. Your names, ages, where you are from and the like."

"My name's Kodoku Na Kibou. I'm not from here, and I'm 13. My hobbies are personal. I like lots of things and I don't know what I dislike, and my goals or ambitions in life are to become the best I can be, without regretting my actions."

"Hi. My name is Yuki Uchi – I mean; my name is Yuki Yamagata." She said smiling brightly to her classmates as Kodoku shot her a worried glance, "and I'm 12 years old and my hobbies include cooking and training. I like cooking, and dislike chiken ramen. My – "

"YOU HATE RAMEN!?!?!?!??!?!?" a kid with blond hair and three lines on each side of his face screamed, standing up on his desk. Yuki stood there shocked. Kodoku glared at him, only to see Sasuke sitting behind him looking just as annoyed as she did.

"YOU'D HAVE TO BE STUPID TO HATE RAMEN!!!!" he screamed. Before he could realize his mistake, Kodoku was squatting on his desk and grabbed the collar of his shirt, lifting him at least his own height off the ground.

"Did you just imply that she was stupid?" she said without malice in her voice, which only added to the fear that she inflicted on the boy.

"What?! No, no, no…Hehe…No, of course not!" he said, scratching the back of his head and smiling goofily, yet slightly shivering in fear. Kodoku dropped him and he landed on his rear with an 'ooff!' as she turned back around and stood by her sister at the front of her class

"So, I guess I should add that I dislike it when people insult my sister." Kodoku said looking over the rest of the class. Everyone stared at Kodoku in shock except Yuki, who smiled nervously.

"Well then, Kodoku, how about you sit over there, next to Naruto and Yuki can sit over there. By the way, my name is Iruka." The teacher said pointing to the seat in next to Naruto, the blond haired kid who had come close to loosing his tongue, and the seat next to Sasuke. Yuki and Kodoku made there way towards their seats, Yuki sitting next to Sasuke and Kodoku taking her seat in front of Yuki and to Naruto's left, who was glaring at her.

As the bell for the end of the class rang, Naruto stood hurriedly from his seat and ran to the door, but stopped when Kodoku tapped him on the shoulder, flinching as if waiting for her to punch him.

"Look, I'm sorry I got carried away like that. Please forgive me." she said sincerely.

Naruto thought about it, and then about how he needed friends and shock her outstretched hand, smiling brightly at her.

"What's your next class?" he asked as they walked out of the class.

"The same one everyone is going to. We're supposed to head to the main building to get our teams." Kodoku replied without looking at him, instead choosing to turn around and look for her sister, who had, by the looks out it, already left.

'She's probably just keeping an eye on Sasuke, like I asked.'

"Oh right! I forgot! Hehe… Well, I haven't properly introduced myself. I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm this town's next Hokage! Believe it!" he said smiling goofily again.

"Well, it's nice to meet you…Do you know where we're supposed to go, because I'm kind of lost." Kodoku said, gazing at her surrounding.

"Oh yeah, we're heading this way." he said, pointing with his thumb to his left.

Kodoku and Naruto walked down the hallway until they made it to the main building and stepped inside, taking seats. Kodoku found Yuki sitting a couple chairs over with Sasuke, and two other girls who were glaring at her. Though it bothered her tremendously that these girls, one with pink hair and the other bleach blond, were acting so unfriendly, Kodoku sat down because the teacher was calling for everyone's attention. When the room fell silent, he gave and introduction and then continued with the team groupings….


	10. Chapter 10

**My Solitary Hope**

**Chapter 10**

"Team 1: Oboro, Mubi, Kagari…" he began, reading off the names on the list in front of him.

After a while, he finally got to some recognizable names.

"Team 7: Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, Yuki  
Team 8: Kiba, Hinata, Shino, Kodoku  
Team 9: Shigure, Midari, Baiu  
Team 10: Ino, Shikamaru, Choji  
Team 11: Lee, Tenten, Neji  
Those are your teams, please be sure to meet up with them after class."

A kid waved his hand in the air, sitting on the edge of his seat.

"Yes, Shigure?" the teacher asked.

"Why do team seven and team eight have an extra person? That makes it unfair for the Chunin exams that are coming up!"

"Yuki and Kodoku will not be participating in the Chunin exams; they will only be used as practice partners."

Yuki turned towards Sasuke, and whispered, "Hey, what are the Chunnin exams?"

He looked at her incredulously "You mean you don't know?"

"Well if I knew I wouldn't be asking." She said, smiling gently.

"It's a test that lets us pass on to being Chunin, or, a simpler way of stating it is a test that will allow us to go on harder ranked missions."

"Oh, you mean, you guys haven't gone on any missions yet?"

"Yes, but only D ranked. Those are the ones that have no danger… Basically, they're boring. You know, they're usually things having to do with manual labor."

"Oh." was all Yuki replied as she turned looked around to see that the teacher had dismissed people and that the groups that had just been named were mingling, and trying to find themselves.

"Well, we're on the same team." Sasuke said, standing up, "Follow me. I'll introduce you to the others."

Making their way through the crowd, Yuki noticed that they were headed towards the boy that had spoken out in class. She also felt someone glaring at her. Turning around, she couldn't find anybody.

"You comin'?" Sasuke asked, having stopped as well.

"Yeah. – "

"SAAAASUKEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" shrieked a high pitched voice, and Yuki covered her ears with her hands as a flash of pink zipped past her eyes and Sasuke collapsed to the ground. She stared in shock as a girl with pink hair glomped him, and he tried pushing her off. The boy with blonde hair came running over, looking jealous.

"I didn't know you had a girlfriend." Yuki said, smiling awkwardly.

"She's not my – "

"THAT'S RIGHT BITCH!!!! HE'S MINE!!!! GET YOUR OWN!!!!" The girl with pink hair said, glaring. If looks could kill, Yuki would have been dead a long time ago.

"Shut up forehead. He doesn't like you, he likes ME." said a blond girl, walking towards Yuki, Sasuke, the girl with pink hair, and the blond kid.

Behind her stood a boy with his hair pulled back in a pony tail, and a kid with a bag of chips. If Yuki remembered correctly, their names were Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji; Team 10. Ignoring the bickering of the two girls, Sasuke introduced Naruto to Yuki, and he apologized for what he had said in the class.

"Shut up forehead," yelled Ino

"At least I'm not fat like you, pig," screamed Sakura, as Yuki learned was the pink haired girls name.

Yuki looked at Ino, who wasn't fat at all.

"Hey, I may be fat, but I can always diet, whereas you'll always be ugly," she replied viciously.

"Well, you're quite good looking yourself...for a Gorilla, that is..."

"Shut up! I've just come back from the beauticians!"

"Pity it was closed..." ended Sakura as Ino leaped towards her.

Yuki winced at every coming onslaught, trying to hold back her laughter. Sasuke looked as annoyed as Naruto did, who ended stopping the two from clawing their eyes' out in the end.

"So who's our teacher?" Yuki asked, turning away from the glares coming from the two immature girls.

"We're supposed to go with Team 8 for now, and we'll be taking our test together too." He said looking around for said team.

"Wasn't that Kodoku's team?" asked Naruto and Yuki at the same time.

"I think so." Naruto replied his own question, searching for her, but to his surprise, she showed up behind him, tapping him on the shoulder, just as Sasuke disappeared, saying he was going to go look for her.

"Hey," was all she said before turning to her sister and pulling her a little farther from the group.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" answer Yuki, confused.

Sasuke walked over to Kodoku, finally spotting her in the crowd, talking to her sister Yuki, and made his way towards them. Finally within hearing distance, he heard something that made stopped him in his tracks.

"You announced it to the whole class! Need I remind you? 'I'm Yuki Uchiha!'….Why don't you tell the world you're James Uchiha's daughter while you're at it?!" Kodoku whispered loudly at Yuki, glaring at her, but in an exasperated way.

"What if Sasuke were to find out?" she said more gently, but Sasuke hardly register anything else.

That name echoed in his head: 'James Uchiha.' Now he knew why Yuki's father had looked familiar. With the last name added, it automatically clicked with the face of the old leader of the Military Police Force, controlled mostly by the Uchiha clan.

James had been removed from office after declaring that he was leaving the village, because he'd found a lover. He had been banned from ever entering the Uchiha complex again, and he was replaced with the new leader, and after he had gone, billions of yen were found missing from the organization, and they mysteriously showed up in his hands. He was a traitor. And this girl? She was his daughter? No, it couldn't be true….Or could it?

Yuki's gaze met his dazed appearance, and her eyes opened wide. Kodoku turned to see what has caused the reaction. Faster than Sasuke was able to tell her to stop, she had grabbed him by the back of his shirt and was dragging him out of the door, Yuki following, even though she was having a hard time keeping up.

"Hey, Bitch! Where are you going with MY Sasuke?" screeched Ino.

"Yeah! He was supposed to walk me home!" added Sakura, as both of them grabbed onto his arm and pulled in the other direction.

Kodoku stopped, not in the mood to play tug-a-war with the girls and instead, yanked him out of their grasp, and threw him onto Yuki, who almost tumbled backwards, Sasuke still being in a daze.

Kodoku gave both girls a look that dared them to try to come near. Sakura, either not seeing this, or not caring, tried to push past Kodoku. Big mistake….

She suddenly fell to the ground, screaming in pain. Ino's eyes widened in fear. Kodoku was still staring straight ahead, and still hadn't moved. She stood still as a statue, staring at Ino.

Everything fell silent as Sakura's screaming filled the sound of the auditorium. Teachers ran towards her, but nothing stopped Ino from staring at Kodoku in fear.

Had she made Sakura fall? But she hadn't budged. Was it an illusion?

She was pulled out from her reverie as Sakura stopped screaming, and the teachers shook her, and searched for a pulse. Ino turned her eyes towards Sakura.

Was she dead? Had Kodoku killed her?

She looked back up, but Kodoku was gone….And Sakura suddenly breathed in again...


	11. Chapter 11

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Hey guys! I know, it's been a very long time since I've updated this… I guess I should say that I lied when I said it wouldn't take me a huge load of time to edit my story, because it sure did. I'm still not done though, but I'm going to put what I have up because I think you deserve it, after waiting so patiently. (That's seventeen chapters…)

In other words, you want to start over and read from the beginning, because some of the chapters are new, including the very first one, and some of the chapters weren't there before, and yet more have been elaborated on, or have had corrections fixed…

So instead of asking questions, go reread the story…I know, it's boring…

**My Solitary Hope**

**Chapter 11**

Yuki ran as fast as she could to catch up to her sister, who was ahead of her and dragging Sasuke behind, as he stumbled over his own feet.

"What the hell is going –"

"Shut up," replied Kodoku harshly.

"Kodoku! Be nice! He hasn't done anything wrong!" Yuki said, feeling pity towards Sasuke, and afraid for Sakura, even if she knew her sister wouldn't kill to pink hair girl.

The dark haired girl didn't reply as she continued turning through all of the hallways. Finally satisfied with the lack of population in one of the rooms, she threw Sasuke in, and he landed on his feet. Hey, he wasn't going to embarrass himself anymore than he already had in front of these two chicks. And who was she to be dragging him through the school hallways?

Kodoku let Yuki in, and then shut the door locking it. Finally he could talk without being interrupted.

"Yuki is James Uchi – "

BAM! His breathe was knocked out of him as he was slammed into the wall, a hand clamped over his mouth. He hadn't even seen Kodoku move. Yuki's eyes widened and she ran towards them prying off her sister from the boy.

"Kodoku! Stop it! He hasn't done anything! Just let me explain it to him!" Yuki said, standing between Kodoku and Sasuke, her arms out stretched in a protective manner. Kodoku glared past Yuki, and Sasuke almost felt afraid…almost….

"If he says a WORD about this to anyone, you won't get a chance to protect him." She said, after a deafening silence, and a staring war between the girls. Turning around and walking over to stand by the door, she sat down on the cold tile floor. Yuki relaxed and turned around to face Sasuke.

"Promise me you won't tell anyone."

Without taking his eyes off of Kodoku, Sasuke replied, "I've already sworn not to say anything."

Kodoku's head jerked up, her eyes bright red.

"Sworn not to say what?" asked Yuki, confused. Sasuke realized his mistake. Yuki didn't know about what James did to Kodoku.

"Nothing."

"No, what did you swear not to say?" she asked again, frustration laced into her beautiful voice.

"Nothing, I told you. I promise I won't tell anyone." He said, though the comment was more directed at Kodoku than at Yuki. Kodoku, for some odd reason, looked like she was on the verge of tears. She lowered her eyes out of view, and without warning, stood from her place.

"Alright. Well, I suppose you already know who James is?" Yuki asked.

"Yeah." Sasuke replied simply. He was mad that he had been dragged down the halls, by a girl none the less.

"Well, yes. I'm his daughter." She said looking down.

"Really?" Sasuke said harshly, his words drenched in sarcasm, "So, how did he get back into Kohona? Isn't he not longer allowed into Kohona after abandoning us, especially after stealing money before leaving? And what about the Sharigan? Do you have the Sharigan?"

"No, he's still allowed into the village, just not into the Uchiha complex. And yes, I've wanted to practice the Sharigan, but I've got no one to practice with." Yuki asked, still trying not to be mean about her comment, "But he's changed. You have to believe me! He's not that kind of person anymore," she said, looking up to Sasuke.

Sasuke was pissed…How DARE James come back?… How dare he feel like he can waltz back into the village without resistance.

And then he was raping his daughter. How could he have changed?…

If he'd changed, it'd been for the worst. He'd only been a couple years old when the Police Chief left for an unknown village, but he still remembered the chaos that had ensued, especially after finding out that a large sum of money was missing.

"Changed? CHANGED?!?! You think that bastard has changed?!?! First he steals money from his own organization and you're telling me he's changed?!" he yelled, not purposefully, at Yuki, who coward back, "How the hell is raping your daughter any better than stealing!?!?! YOU FUCKING THINK HE'S CHANGED?!?!?!" he was pissed.

How the hell could James be back? He was going to kill him. He wanted so badly to wring that man's neck.

Kodoku's head jerked up to Sasuke, her eyes such a pale blue that they looked white. The tears streaming down her face were impossible not to notice.

…

"Raping his daughter?" asked Yuki, quietly.

Sasuke mentally slapped himself, but it was nothing compared to the physical pain he felt as his head jerked to his right, a bright red mark adorning his cheek.

"And here I was thinking I could trust you." Kodoku interrupted him, her cold voice cracking from the anger, sadness, and fear. She didn't speak loudly, but her voice still sent shivers down Sasuke's back.

"What's going on?" asked Yuki, afraid to disturb the silence that followed.

No one answered, and the silence dragged on.

"Yuki, get out." Kodoku said quietly, her eyes hidden beneath her bangs.

"What? No! What are you going to do –"

"Get. Out. Now," she repeated.

Yuki swallowed, and looked at Sasuke, who nodded his approval, and she left the room, taking one look back before shutting the door. As soon as the lock clicked, Kodoku punched Sasuke in the stomach, and he, being unprepared, flew back into the wall. However, as she came again, he caught her hand, but she bent down and tripped him. He fell back on his hand and flipped, spinning and landing on his feet. However, it left him at a disadvantage since his back was facing her, and Kodoku kicked him behind his knee, forcing him into an involuntary squatting position. She stepped on the back of his leg, lifting her other foot off the ground, and brought her other knee behind his head, kneeing him harshly in the back of his neck. The pain shot down his spine as his head hit the floor and Kodoku straddled him, pulling out a kunai and pressing it to his neck. How the hell could she move so fast? How did he get beaten? And by this scrawny little girl?

He panted, trying to catch his breath.

"You lied to me." she said, the tears coming again, "Now she knows."

"She's got no idea, I could have just said something like that –"

"That's bullshit. How can I trust you with everything if you can't even keep your mouth shut? You've just put me in a dangerous position. Just like you, right now." She said, pressing the kunai to his throat, "I don't want to have to hurt you, so shut your fat mouth. Got it?"

Sasuke grimaced, looking up at her. He saw the small red lines on her arms and sighed.

"On one condition. Yuki stays at my house." Kodoku opened her mouth, but Sasuke continued.

"She needs someone to help her practice the Sharigan. I know someone who can give her the power to protect herself. I'm sure he would help." Sasuke said sincerely, thinking of Itachi.

It wasn't right that James could use Kodoku like that, by using her sister as leverage. He had to do something about it. If Yuki could defend herself, then Kodoku was free… And so was Yuki.

Kodoku sifted through her own plan, and uttered only one word as a response.

"Fine."


	12. Chapter 12

**My Solitary Hope**

**Chapter 12**

Kodoku stood up and held her hand out for Sasuke to take, which he did.

"I'm sorry…about acting this way," she whispered, looking at the floor, "I guess I'm just scared that things will leak out. I don't want Yuki getting hurt. She's the only person left that actually cares about me, which is why it's hard to let her go…She's like a replacement mother for me."

"It's okay. I know how you feel." Sasuke said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm really sorry. I don't know what got a hold of me….As soon as you said it, my mind just went blank and I attacked. Please forgive me."

"I already said it's alright. But maybe try talking to me next time, before throwing me into a wall", he said smiling worriedly.

"We better get back to Yuki." Kodoku said as she walked towards the door, Sasuke following her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Yuki, you're going to be living at Sasuke's house."

"What?! Why?!" she asked with confusion and mixed emotions.

"To help practice your Sharigan. My brother can help you, and so can I." Sasuke replied for Kodoku.

"But then,….Kodoku will be all alone."

"I'll be fine." Kodoku said, looking in the other direction, half hoping her sister would refuse the offer, but she knew it had to be done.

If she stayed any longer, James might get to her too.

"Come on. We've got to go explain this to James." she continued.

"The leader won't be happy to know that James is here," Sasuke said.

"He already does."

"What?! And he hasn't done anything about it?!" he said, anger sifting through him

"Well, there was so solid evidence that my father was the one who stole the money, even if we all know it was him." Yuki stated, ashamed that her father had done something like that.

"Isn't the fact that the missing yen showed up in his hands enough proof?"

"Fine then, would you turn in YOUR brother?" Kodoku asked, though she didn't want to defend the leader of the Uchiha clan.

Oh…Well….That made sense….Sasuke looked up to his older brother, and when he put himself in the situation, he wasn't sure he'd be willing to give up his brother.

"I'm sure James will be fine with Yuki moving into the Uchiha complex, since he's always been proud of her Genjutstu."

"Well? Come on! Let's go see our teams." Yuki said cheerfully, grabbing Sasuke's hand.

Kodoku saw him blush and couldn't help but smile quietly.

Yeah….Yuki would be in good hands. She'd be safe. There was no doubt about it…

At least Sasuke could keep that promise….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Well, looks like your teacher's a little late… You'll get used to it." Kurenai said. As if on cue, Kakashi suddenly appeared, reading a book.

"Hey guys. Sorry I'm late...."

Kurenai hit him on the back of the head, smiling.

"You shouldn't be late. It's a bad example for your students."

"Well, then, let's catch up on lost time." He said, sitting down on a tree stump as he continued reading his book, "Alright, why don't you introduce yourselves. One at a time."

"Introduce ourselves? Well…What are we supposed to say?" Sakura asked, sitting down next to Sasuke, and to her surprise, Naruto didn't sit down next to her. Instead, he took a seat next to Kodoku, and on her other side sat Kiba, who still eyed her.

"Things you like. Things you hate. Dreams for the future. Hobbies. Things like that."

"Okay, you go first, Kakashi." Naruto interrupted.

"My name is Hatake Kakashi. I have things I like, and things I dislike. I've never really thought about my future. My hobbies are personal." He said, smiling, "How about you? We'll start with you." He said, pointing to Naruto, who looked at him incredulously.

"The only thing you told us was your name! Gah… My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen. I dislike the three minutes you have to wait for ramen to cook. And my dreams for the future are to become the best Hokage. Believe it!"

"My name is Haruno Sakura…I like…," Sakura stopped and giggled, staring at Sasuke, "My hobbies are…," she giggled again, glancing his way, "And my dreams for the future are…," she stared at Sasuke and squealed.

"I see…" Kakashi said, disappointed, "And what do you hate."

"NARUTO!" she answered assertively. Sasuke rolled his eyes, and ignored the two as they began bickering.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I like spending time with my brother, and I hate it when my brother has too much work to teach me anything. My dreams for the future are to become exactly like him. My hobbies are practicing with my brother."

"Gee, someone has a brother-complex," whispered Naruto to Kodoku, who laughed as Sasuke fought back the urge to hit him.

"My name is Yuki Yamagata. I like cooking in my spare time. I dislike people who lie. My dreams for the future, well…I've never really thought of that, but I know I want to become a great ninja," she said, smiling brightly.

"Alright, onto Kurenai's students," Kakashi said, smiling, and turning to said people.

"My name is Kiba. I like practicing, dogs, and I like this chick right here, 'cuz she's freaking awesome," he said, patting Kodoku on the shoulder, "And I dislike anyone who betrays their friends. My dreams for the future, well, I guess I want to become a great ninja too. I want to defend my friends," Kiba said, and after hearing Yuki speak, he stared at her as if he'd seen an angel.

"My name is Hinata. I like many things, including my friends. I hold them dear. I dislike anyone who harms them, and I also dislike people who are unfair to others. My dreams for the future are… to become as good a ninja as my cousin."

"My name is Shino. I'm the heir to my clan. I like bugs. I dislike people who dislike bugs. My dreams for the future are to become the best leader I can be."

"My name is Kodoku. I like drawing, and I love the rain. I dislike anyone who harms my sister. I dislike people who you can't trust," she said, glaring at Sasuke, "And my ambitions for the future are to avoid what's already been planned for me without my approval," she finished.

"Alright…Well, enough with introductions…Tomorrow, we'll have a survival test, which we will be doing…Make sure to skip breakfast and show up here at 5 AM…If you don't, you fail… Well, see you tomorrow," Kakashi said, smiling as he disappeared.

Both teams groaned.

"Why no breakfast?" Kiba whined to Kurenai, who was still there.

"Because if you eat, you'll puke," she said, as she too disappeared with a 'poof'. He stared at where she'd just been.

No food? The thought terrified him.

Yuki glanced over at him and smiled. He seemed to be getting along with Kodoku nicely. Walking over to the two of them, she greeted her sister and then Kiba, who stared at her in awe.

"This is your sister?" he asked, and Kodoku nodded, "You forgot to mention that she was freakin' hot!?"

Kodoku rolled her eyes as Yuki blushed, "Well, she's going out with Sasuke, so I didn't think I'd mention it."

Sasuke sighed, but before he could argue, Kiba cut him off.

Sakura froze….HER Sasuke was going out with Yuki? HERRRR SASUKE?!?

"You serious? That's too bad. I bet I'm better than him in bed," he said winking, and Sasuke felt his pride hurt.

"That's a lie. You probably suck in bed," Sasuke defended with a mocking laugh.

"So you admit you've slept with her? Hmm…Let's let Yuki differentiate," Kiba retorted, pulling Yuki towards him.

"No, thank you…" Yuki said, backing away, but still laughing.

"What, you really think Sasuke's better in bed?" Kiba asked.

"No, I don't—"

"Ha! See, Sasuke? She admits that you've slept together too! And on top of it all, she doesn't think you were good!" Kiba shouted, laughing uncontrollably.

Sakura was filled with rage….THEY'D BEEN SLEEPIGN TOGETHER!?!?!?!

"Yuki, tell the bastard--" Sasuke said, but before he could finish, Kiba interrupted again.

"Oh, she doesn't need to tell us anything…We already know that you suck in bed."

"I do NOT suck in bed!" Sasuke retorted, finally become angry.

"No, you're right… sucking is Yuki's job." Kiba replied, laughing hysterically, and Yuki turned a bright shade of red.

"That was uncalled for, Kiba," Sakura said, her fists shaking with rage, and then she punched him, letting all of her anger out, and everyone watched as he went through several trees.


	13. Chapter 13

**My Solitary Hope**

**Chapter 13**

"I'll stay out of this." Kodoku said as they approached the front door to tell James Uchiha that Yuki would be moving out.

"But why?" Yuki asked.

"I'm just going to go check up on the Kiba…" she said, seeing as Kiba was now at the hospital, and it gave her an excuse, "And I'll go check on Sakura too…She hurt her fist."

"Oh, you mean Sasuke's girlfriend?"

"Yeah, that one."

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!!"

"Oh right…Sorry, I forgot that you liked Yuki instead."

At this, Sasuke face turned red, though whether it was out of anger, or if he was blushing, neither of the girls could tell.

"Well, see ya'," said Kodoku, waving once over her shoulder.

"But –"

"It's best to let her go," Sasuke said, realizing the direction in which Kodoku's logic was headed.

If Kodoku were to ask if Yuki could stay, James would think it was to get her out of the house. Where as if Yuki asked, he would think she just wanted to please him. Yes, it was better if Kodoku wasn't there.

"She's been so weird lately." Yuki smiled sorrowfully as she walked back up to the door with Sasuke.

"What do you mean?"

"She didn't used to be this way. On the way here, I learned that she was my sister. She'd been jealous of me at first, because my parents cared about me, but eventually, we became best of friends. She told me about our curse, and what we really were and why we were moving. She comforted me. We were really close, but ever since a couple of days ago, she's been acting strangely. She's jumpy and she cautious. Like back when you came out of the closet, when she thought you were in the bathroom? And she pulled out a kunai? She wouldn't have done that normally. And back in here when you said things that made no sense about my dad raping his daughter – I've never been raped, thank you very much – about James, and she dragged you back to the room, and when the pink haired girl – "

"Her name is Sakura."

"Oh, well when Sakura fell, Kodoku did that. It's her power. She can insert her Chakra into the blood veins of people and then, she can stop the blood flow, but she can only do it if she touches you. Our chakra is different then yours, because we're from a different village. We need to be able to transfer it through touch. That's why we usually take the first blow. But anyways….Kodoku used to be like an innocent child. She was protective of me, and she cared a lot about me, as did I with her. But lately, whenever she sees dad, she freaks out."

"It's nothing. I'm sure she's just stressed." Sasuke said, trying to redeem himself for his earlier mistakes.

"I doubt it. Kodoku's always been calm and collected. She's starting to become more distant. I almost feel like it's the curse that taking her away from me. She's becoming more and more like that silly story that she told me on the way here. Cold, pitiless, deep. And yet she also told me it was just a stupid lie, and that it was just a couple of people who didn't know what they were talking about that made it up. It irks me to see her that way. It's like she's hiding something from me." Yuki finished, as she opened the door and walked up the stairs to her room and began packing some things.

"I'm sure you're just imagining it." Sasuke said.

"Oh weren't we supposed to meet with our team?"

"We'll just go tomorrow. We'll just say we were helping you move things and couldn't stay." Sasuke said, solving the minor problem.

"Here, let me help." He said, picking up the duffle bag that was on the ground and opening it.

"Hey…Thanks."

"It's nothing."

"No, for listening to my nonsense."

'But it's not' was what Sasuke wanted to say, but instead it came out as "You're welcome."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It took James approximately 30 minutes to get home, welcomed by Yuki and another child. He recognized the symbol on Sasuke's shirt immediately.

"Why hello….What do I owe this visit to?" he said kindly, and Sasuke could tell that James was drunk. Sasuke had a hard time seeing him as a good person anymore.

Trash like him should die.

"Has my brother finally decided to have me arrested? Last I checked, I wasn't in the bingo books." James said, sitting down in the big red chair, smiling, but only half jokingly.

"Daddy!" Yuki said, not happy that her father was speaking that way.

"Yes, I'm sorry," he said, ruffling Yuki's hair. With what Sasuke had seen this man do to Kodoku, the act didn't seem so much of a father-daughter thing, and he was tempted to rip the man's arm off, but instead, resorted to gritting his teeth silently.

"So, what is it?"

"Sasuke here has offered that I stay in the Uchiha complex, to practice my Sharigan."

James looked up to Sasuke suspiciously.

'That's right. Be scared you old man. Go die in a corner of the world. I'm not going to let you keep her, you son of a bitch,' but instead, Sasuke resorted to...

"Hey, whether or not her father is a traitor doesn't mean she'll follow in his footsteps." Sasuke said defending himself, and seeing as the man was drunk, it looked like this was going to be easy.

Sasuke couldn't help but wonder if Kodoku had known he wouldn't be sober enough to say no…the idea made him laughed inwardly.

"Sasuke. Stop it. But Daddy, I'll get to practice, and make you proud!"

"You want to leave me hear alone with that worthless sister of yours?"

Yuki looked taken aback, as did Sasuke.

"Worthless?" Yuki asked, angry and confused.

"I mean – Wait, yes, she's worthless. Do you know what time she came home last night? Far past her bedtime, that's when. That child so bothersome… and you keep her in line." He said, catching himself right before hitting the ground, both metaphorically and physically.

Man this guy was drunk. Sasuke could smell the alcohol from where he was.

"Well, I guess it's okay…I'll have a nice talk with her tonight .... Just me and her.... I'm sure she must be devastated that you're leaving. I'll comfort her, you won't have to worry about anything."

Sasuke had never wanted to kill anyone for real, but right now, it seemed just as good an option as any other. He had caught the double meaning behind the words...and came upon a sudden realization...


	14. Chapter 14

**My Solitary Hope**

**Chapter 14**

Sasuke's eyes opened wide, understanding the double meaning. He realized his mistake. With Yuki gone, Kodoku was alone in the house with this man…But it kept her sister out of danger.

But why couldn't she fight back now that her sister was gone? Wait, this man was an Uchiha. He had Sharigan, and she didn't. There was no way she'd be able to get past him, not past the original leader of the Uchiha clan. She had risked herself for her sister. Wow, she must really be close….He wished his brother and him were that close….

"Well, hurry and go…" James stopped.

"Finish packing?" Sasuke finished for the man, seeing as he was too drunk to finish his sentence.

"Yeah, you two go do that…"

"Mmkay, Daddy," Yuki said as she made her way up the stairs with Sasuke. As soon as they were out of earshot from her father she whispered.

"See? He's changed."

Bullshit.

They quickly commenced packing as a knock was heard on Yuki's door. The girl dropped what she had in her hands in one of the boxes and opened the door.

"Hey," was all Kodoku said as she stepped into the room.

Sasuke immediately stopped what he was doing, noticing the bright red mark on her face and she looked like she's just been crying, and Yuki noticed as well.

"What happened?" Yuki asked before Sasuke could, and Kodoku shook her head, not wanting to tell her sister that her father had actually thrown a beer bottle at her.

"You know what, Kodoku? I'm tired of these lies. And don't tell me you're not lying, because I know you are. You always come home late at night, and when ever you do, you're hurt when I see you the next morning. You zone out all the time. You ignore me, and you avoid questions. What's going on?" Yuki finally stated, grabbing her sister's hands and holding them tightly.

Kodoku didn't know what to say. She's never considered that her sister would actually ask her about it.

"Kodoku…" Sauske got her attention, and when she looked up at him, he opened his mouth again, "Yuki, there's something you need to know…"

Kodoku's eyes widened…He was going to tell her.

She never should have trusted him…

Never.

That was what she got for making friends…It was always easier being on your own.

"Kodoku's been taking extra lessons at school with me, and sometimes we spar outside of school, usually at night, by my house. We didn't want to worry you, so we never told you. I'm sorry."

Kodoku's eyes widened, and she looked so relieved that Sasuke feared she might give the lie away, but Yuki only looked happy to finally know the truth.

"Oh,…that's all? You could have told me. You had me worried," she said.

"Speaking of which, can I talk with you, Kodoku?" he asked "…privately."

"Sure." Kodoku replied, and Yuki, catching on, left the room saying, "I'll go get us some hot chocolate."

As soon as the door closed, Sasuke's charade and fake smile dropped, and he became serious.

"What really happened?"

"James threw a bottle at me," she replied, mumbling, hoping that Sasuke wouldn't hear it, but with the incredulous expression on his face, she knew it was only a hope.

"I'm fine. No concussion…No nothing."

"…You sure you're okay with her leaving?"

"I thought you were the one who wanted her to go."

"Yes, because I thought it'd be easier for you to tell the authorities if she wasn't in danger."

Kodoku looked back up at him, from where she stood in front of the door, and for a moment, Sasuke braced himself in case she was going to throw him into a wall again, but instead, she sighed.

"Look, I understand that it's got to be hard for you, but can you just pretend I never said anything?"

"Let's just say I were too. There are lots of things that you can't explain."

"Like what?"

"Why is Yuki moving into my house?"

"…Because you're going to help her practice the Sharigan."

"Fine, then why did you refuse to come in and ask with us?"

"I had to go say sorry to….Sakura, was it? And I had to walk Kiba home…He hurt his ankle."

"Fine, then, why did you drag me all over the floor in the school?" he said, starting to become frustrated. Kodoku didn't reply, not finding an excuse. He was about to prove his point when she opened her mouth.

"The floor needed sweeping…" she said, nonchalantly. Sasuke opened his mouth and then closed it again.

He'd just been insulted... Right?

Damn her, he thought as she stood there smirking lightly.

"Fine then…" he said standing up and walking over to her. He grabbed her wrist and pushed up her sleeve and she just watched as he pointed to the scars that adorned her arm.

"…What are these from?" he said, matter-of-factly, as if he had just won the argument.

"I was practicing with you after school." Kodoku replied immediately, smirking.

Sasuke stared at her for a long time before letting go of her arm, since she stared at him defiantly.

"Fine you win. But at least promise me you'll think about telling the police?"

Before Kodoku could answer, Yuki pushed open the door carrying a tray with three mugs of hot chocolates.

"Sorry, did I interrupt?" she asked.

"Not at all," Kodoku said, smiling. It was so unusual of her that Sasuke couldn't help but find it out of place. Damn, she needed to smile more often he thought.

As soon as they were done with the drinks, they finished packing.

"Are you sure I'm allowed to stay?" Yuki asked Sasuke as they picked up the boxes and carried them downstairs and out the front door.

"Yes, I spoke to the leader, and my parents. They said you could stay, and you'll be living in my house."

"Really?" Yuki asked ecstatic.

"Yes, really."

They continued speaking, well Sasuke and Yuki did. Kodoku just stayed in the back and carried her things, and only gave one word answers no matter how many times they tried to include her in the conversation. Finally, they arrived in front of a large gate, which bore the sign of a fan, the top being red and the bottom being white: the sigh for the Uchiha complex. The gate opened and after the guards at the front checked their identities, they continued walking to Sasuke's house.

"Ok, so, we keep your ancestry a secret. Got it?" Sasuke whispered to Yuki, who nodded as well as Kodoku.

They arrived at the house, and Sasuke opened the door.

"Why, hello there. Are you the Yuki we have heard of so many times?" said a woman as she came into the front room.

"Yuki, this is my mother. Mom, this is Yuki."

"It's nice to meet you." Yuki said bowing, and Sasuke continued carrying the boxes into the guest room. It was beige, and very elegant, and Yuki fell in love with it instantly. After they finished unpacking, Sasuke grabbed Yuki's hand and said, "Follow me! I want to introduce you to someone!"

Kodoku followed the two, trying very hard not to smile when she saw her sister blush.

They arrived at a plain door at the end of the hallway and Sasuke knocked on it saying, "Brother?"

"Hmm."

"Can I come in?" Sasuke asked.

"Make it quick."

And so, Sasuke and the two sisters walked in.

"Itachi, this is Yuki. She will be staying with us. Father will be teaching her the Sharigan."

"Is that so?" Itachi asked, stealing only a quick glance at the girl

"It's nice meeting you." Yuki said, bowing again.

Itachi stopped what he was doing as turned his full attention towards his brother. He then noticed a third person. She had short brown and black hair, and her eyes were a piercing green color. She was shorter than the average height, thought not by much and she wore red and black clothing. Something about her told him she wasn't one to be trifled with, yet he wondered how much damage she could actually do. And the way she stared him straight in the eyes, her head tilted ever so slightly to the right, she looked as if she was sizing him up, just as he was doing with her. However, to Sasuke's left stood another girl.

Yuki, as his brother had called her, no? She had long blondish, brown hair, and beautiful pale blue eyes. Standing about an inch or two shorter than Sasuke, her smile was irresistibly contagious. She was – in all ways considered – absolutely beautiful. And her voice, oh her voice. It was beautiful, and he automatically wondered what it would sound like if she sang. He nodded his head in his brother's direction, and Sasuke turned to leave, followed by the blond. The shorter girl stayed put, still staring at him…Not judgmentally, but with curiosity, and she continued until Sasuke and Yuki called her by name…'Kodoku'.

It wasn't a common name...

"Wait…" Itachi called out.

"Yes?" Kodoku said, half turned towards the door, but staring him in the eyes.

"What's your full name?"

Could she be…?

Itachi could tell she hesitated. Suspicion immediately clouded her eyes, before she answered.

"Kodoku Na Kibou Yamagata" and with that she walked out the door, following Sasuke.

Kodoku Na Kibou, huh? That meant 'Solitary Hope' in Japanese. And yet…when she got suspicious, her eyes didn't change colors….but the name matched exactly. He'd have to keep an eye on her.... Maybe he was right... Maybe it was her.


	15. Chapter 15

**My Solitary Hope**

**Chapter 15**

"Well, I'll be going back now." Kodoku said, after helping her sister unpack the last box.  
Yuki hugged Kodoku good-bye, and then she left after thanking Sasuke and his parents.

Yuki plopped down on her new bed and enjoyed how comfy it was. She had already decided that she loved it here. Sasuke came in a little while later.

"You like it?" he asked

"I absolutely adore it." she replied

"Well, I'm glad. Let's go eat something."

Yuki followed Sasuke into the kitchen, where he pulled out some bread, peanut butter and jelly.

"You don't like ramen, right?" he asked, blushing slightly and he handed her a finished sandwich. Yuki was shocked that he remembered, but smiled all the same as she took it.

"Yeah, that's right. Thanks." He blushed even more, and Yuki giggled.

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"You're all red!"

"WHAT?!?!"

"And now you're even redder!" she said bursting out laughing.

"Do you have a fever?" she asked, still chuckling lightly, as she pressed her hand to his forehead. He had to admit, he enjoyed the coldness of her skin on his.

"You don't have a temperature." She said, taking a bite out of her sandwich, and – to Sasuke's great dismay – removing her hand. They continued eating in silence, and then went to be bed. It wasn't difficult for Yuki to fall asleep in the large comfy bed…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Black.

There was nothing.

It was empty.

Slowly, laughter took the place of the eerie silence, followed by the sound of water splashing. To Yuki, it all sounded muffled, yet she could tell distinctly what they were.

Out of the darkness, a small, female child came into focus, waving her arms frantically beneath her, drops of water being flung everywhere form the tips of her fingers.

She giggled adorably, and all the noises suddenly became crystal clear, ringing with every chord of her voice. The girl played for a few more moments before a river formed around her.

The water glided slowly around her, calmly disturbed only by the ripples that were around her tiny ankles, and around her white, fluffy summer dress. The sun bounced off the little girl's skin beautifully, and made her appear to be glowing. Things began appearing in, one by one.

First the rocks in the water, then the grass, then the trees, one at a time. Next came the blue sky, dotted with clouds, and the leaves on the ground, and a small brown leather backpack, that hung off a low branch. Lastly, and the thing that surprised Yuki, was the boy that appeared.

He looked to be about 14 years of age, with shaggy brown hair, and tan freckled skin. He was knee high in the cold, fresh water behind the little girl, smiling brightly while watching her.

Suddenly, she turned around and splashed him, giggling uncontrollably. He rubbed his eyes, taken off guard and then splashed her back. This continued, until the little girl ran out of the river, the boy chasing her.

The both laughed, and the sound over powered everything else Yuki heard as she watched the two play.

Suddenly, the girl fell, scraping her knee.

By natural instinct, Yuki awaited to hear the words 'Mommy.' From the little girl as the tears began brimming her eyes, but instead….

"Tristaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan." She wailed. Her voice was beautiful.

"What is it?" the boy asked, lifting her up easily off the ground.

Her dress was muddied, and she had a small gash on her knee from which blood was running, mixing with the dirt and water.

"It huuuuuuuuuuuuuuurts!" she continued. He lay her down under a nearby tree, and pushed her dress up off the cut.

"Wait here, I'll fix it." he said, turning towards the leather bag.

Out of it, he pulled bandages and a cloth, which he wet with water form the river and then cleaned the cut off. He wrapped the cut in the bandages, then he kissed it lightly, and she giggled, the tears still present. He hugged her closely, and pulled something out of his pocket.

"This is for you." He said, placing the blue ribbon in her hand.

She gaped in awe at it, but he took it back and turned her around in his lap, her back facing him. He gathered her hair in a high ponytail, and then tied it with the ribbon. Hugging her close, he whispered into her ear.

"It matches your eyes."

His last words echoed in Yuki's mind and everything faded out, back to black.

And there was nothing.

It was empty.

Once again, a little girl came into view, thought this time she appeared older, at least 7. She appeared to be sitting down, swinging her legs back and forth, and she wore a blue ribbon around her neck.

Slowly, the sound of the wind could be heard, and just like last time, Yuki saw things slowly file in. First the bench on which she sitting, and then trees one by one, and then the cement road beneath her feet, followed by a boy, who looked to be 17. She was staring at him and smiling.

"Please come." She said, her voice ringing beautifully.

"You know I can't. You're parents are going, I told you I'd only go if they couldn't." he replied.

The girls bleach blond hair rustled in the wind.

"But they only SAID they'd go. You know just as well as I do that they won't come."

"You can't be sure of that." He said, smiling sorrowfully.

Somehow, she could tell he didn't believe a word of what he was saying, as if he were trying to convince himself as well as her.

She mumbled something under her breath, and the boy wrapped an arm around her shoulder, sighing as he rested his cheek on her hair. He gave her a hug from the side, and she hugged him back, though her arms were not long enough to encircle his entire body.

Out of his pocket he pulled out a ring with intricate designs on it. He took her hand and placed it on her middle finger.

"Look. This way, no matter what, I'll always be with you." He said smiling, "And you'll always remember me."

Once again, his last word echoed in her mind as everything disappeared, the little girls smiling face being the last thing she saw.

The echo was replaced with a loud crackling noise. The black emptiness that had been preset only moments ago burst into a bright, deadly red, flickering with yellow, oranges and even some blue. Bright orange sparks floated delicately through the air.

Yuki could see a child, of about 8 years of age, her blonde hair reflecting the changing colors of the fire that surrounded her. An intricately designed ring hung off of a ribbon that was tied loosely around her neck.

This time, things didn't file in, they just appeared, the houses, charred and burned to the ground, the dead bodies, burning, the thin layer of sweat that covered her body, and the black soot that was powdered on her arms.

As Yuki examined the surroundings, she was surprised when she couldn't find the boy. He had been in the last two, so why not this one? As if on cue, the boy came stumbling out of nowhere, and he headed for the girl who stood, the wind blowing her long shirt back, and well as whipping her hair across her face.

For the first time, when the boy collided with her body, hugging her tightly as they fell onto the dirt ground, Yuki noticed that the girl was crying. She saw the girls lips move, but the roaring of the fire drowned out her voice. The boy spoke louder screaming.

"Yuki! Oh, thank God you're safe. Where are your parents? We have to help them!" he said.

"They didn't come." She said emotionlessly, staring straight ahead.

"What?"

"They said they'd come, but they didn't. You told me they'd come." She said gripping the ring around her neck. "You lied." She continued, looking up at him….

The girl's eyes that used to be blue had turned into a depthless black, the tears streaming down her face.

"They. Didn't. COME." She screamed, fire igniting around her hand, and yet it didn't seem to burn her.

She hit the boy, square in the chest and even thought she didn't look like she had much strength, he flew back, a black burned hole that had made its way past his shirt, and onto his skin. The girl stood and walked over to him, straddling his waist and putting her hands around his neck. She squeezed, and Yuki saw the confusion in the boy's eyes, as well as the pain, yet he refused to fight back, and to harm the girl.

Around her hand, his skin began turning black and red, and suddenly, his eyes rolled back into his head and the little girl let go, as the rest of the flames round her engulfed the landscape.

"You…you lied…You lied to me…" the little girl said, her eyes turning back to their pale blue color, and she fell on her knees and cried as she saw what she'd done.  
Killed....she'd killed her best, and only friend.... The last thing Yuki saw was the girl clutching the necklace around her neck, and the echo of the words...

"You lied to me..."


	16. Chapter 16

**My Solitary Hope**

**Chapter 16**

Yuki woke up clutching her head, and screaming. Her eyes were screwed shut, hindering her from identifying the person that burst the door open and ran in.

Well, whoever it was wasn't gentle when they shoved her back down on the bed, holding her wrists with one hand, the other clamped shut over her mouth. The moonlight bounced off of the light layer of sweat on her skin, and her nightgown was a wrinkled mess.

"Yuki, what's wrong?" Sasuke asked, after she had stopped struggling.

She opened her eyes, panting, the tears streaming down her face. Her lips moved, but she didn't speak.

"Yuki, are you alright?" Sasuke asked again when she just stared blankly at the ceiling, breathing heavily, and tears began trailing down her skin, which was tainted blue from the moonlight creeping in through the window.

But her red eyes stood out against her skin. They were red…and not blue. Not their usual entrancing blue. No, blood red.

"He…I…killed him." She whispered

"What? What are you talking about? It was just a dream. You're okay." Sasuke said, confused about her eye color, as he thought back to what Kodoku had told him about 'The Unisons.'

'_Her eyes haven't started changing colors yet. So we're not sure if it's her.'_

"No, a memory. I…killed him…I took his life…I'm a murderer." Yuki grabbed Sasuke's shirt and pulled him down, crying in the dark blue fabric of the shirt that he had put on backwards in his rush to get to her room.

Lying down next to her, Sasuke felt awkward, but realized Yuki was in too much of a chaotic mood to notice anything. His expression softened from worry, into sympathy.

"It's okay. It was just a dream. You're safe now."

Yuki burst into a choking fit of tears. Sasuke stayed by her side, trying his hardest to comfort her, and she began quieting down.

"Tell me what it was about." he said.

"There-- There was a boy. He g-gave me a necklace, and a ring…And I k-killed him. There were flames, my parents didn't show up. He lied. I…I killed him." She said.

"Well, remind me never to get you jewelry." He said, half jokingly, and Yuki let out a rough resemblance to a laugh, lacking sufficient energy to make it sound real, "Anyways, go to sleep."

And with that, he focused on the rhythmatic rising and falling of her chest, and after it slowed, he guessed that she had finally fallen asleep. Staring at her face, the tears still there, he wanted so badly to see her smile.

"Hey Yuki?"

"Mmm?"

Oh…He'd sort of been hoping she'd be asleep.

"You're eyes…they turned red back there."

She opened them, and they were blue. He was prepared to see them red, but they were back to their original color.

"That's not possible."

"Oh, don't give me that shit. I had a hard enough time getting information out of your sister." he said with a dry laugh.

"…Fine, but don't tell her." She said, sniffing, and rubbing away her tears.

"Wait, you mean you're eyes change colors?"

"Yeah. My dream…It wasn't a dream. It was a memory. I actually remember the boy. His name was Tristan. I just…lost control one day. And I burned the village down, and I…I killed him." She said, starting to cry again.

"But how come you can control the color changing thing so well?" Sasuke asked, turning to face her and sitting up on her bed.

"I can't control it…so I wear contacts. It's better that Kodoku doesn't know."

"Why?"

"Because…she doesn't know that I killed him. She doesn't need to know that I'm a murderer. I don't want her to hate me."

"Why would she hate you? You're her family, the last person that she can trust." he said, smiling slightly, "There's no way she could hate someone as kind as you. It was your past. I'm sure it was just a dream. I think it's better if Kodoku knows about you're eyes."

"No!"

"Why not?"

"You just…Look, she doesn't want to believe in the curse. I really do think it's real, but I think she's afraid…No matter how impossible it seems. She always stays strong, but I think she's afraid that the curse might be true. So when her eyes started changing colors, she flipped out. And so if she thinks that my eyes don't change colors, then she'll stop worrying. She'll think it was just a coincidence that her eyes change color."

"…You really care about her, don't you?"

"Of course!"

"Yuki…I need to tell you something."

Sasuke saw the truth in her eyes. Yuki and Kodoku really depended on each other. And now, Sasuke knew he was going to regret what he was about to do….but he was doing it for her sake…for both of their sakes….

He swung his legs off the bed, but didn't stand up. Resting his elbows on his knees with his hands clasped together in front of him, he didn't dare look at her as he spoke.

"You remember back at the academy this morning when Kodoku dragged…" he didn't like to admit it "me into that room, and I said that your father raped his daughter?"

She didn't reply, but Sasuke could feel her confused gaze on his back, so he continued, knowing he had her attention.

"It was true."

She stayed silent for a moment, and what came out of her mouth next surprised him.

"Oh will you stop that bullshit!" she suddenly said, sounding angry "I haven't been raped! It's not because you want my father out of here that you need to make up shit about it!"

Sasuke dared to look at her out of the corner of his eye. Her's mezmorized him. They were like an electric blue. The jagged lines that decorated her iris were a pure white, pasted onto a night sky blue. Again, they had changed.

"You're not his only daughter."

"So you're saying I have some long lost sister?" she said sarcastically, turning around and pulling the covers up to her chin and staring at the wall.

"If I ask you who you're sister is…You say?"

"Well, that's obvious. Kodoku."

"So why do when I say 'his daughter', she doesn't come to mind?" he said, finally getting frustrated.

Yuki looked back at him, disgusted by the fact that he would DARE bring her sister into it.

"She doesn't see him as a father. I've been trying to get her to accept him, but she won't."

Sasuke stayed silent.

"Let me get this straight…You're telling me that MY father rapes my sister, and she NEVER told me? That's the best one yet, Sasuke. Really. If you want him to get thrown out - "

"Why the hell are you so blinded by the fact that he's your father! Just because he's related to you doesn't mean he's perfect! Just because he's been faking around you doesn't mean he's changed!"

"But why the hell didn't she tell me?!?!"

Sasuke could tell that Yuki was mad, and didn't believe a word of it…and as he continued, he wondered how much longer he had to live before Kodoku found out about this.

"He threatened to hurt you if she didn't."

"Oh yeah, sure…Nice one…Of course! My father is going to hurt his only daughter! And she told you all of this, and not me…" she was still glaring.

"It's a long story, but I found out, and so she explained it to me…She didn't want you getting hurt, so she didn't take the chance of refusing for fear that you'd get hurt."

Yuki stared at him, tears springing to her angry eyes. How dare he tell her these lies. She opened her mouth, but Sasuke cut her off.

"Look, it's true, I swear it's true. I have no reason to lie to you."

"Oh, yeah, because you don't hate my father, and you don't want him to leave."

"Will you stop being so ignorant? It's so obvious what he's doing!"

"Shut up!"

"Seriously, why can't you – "

"No! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" She said clutching the sides of her head and throwing herself back onto her pillow, and shoving it over her ears.

Sasuke was about to tear it away from her, until he heard her whimper, so instead he stayed silent as she cried. He got up and walked over to the door. As his hand touched the cold metal of the door knob, Yuki asked him something.

"Is it really true? You're not lying?"

She was giving him a chance to turn back. He was going to have a chance to not face Kodoku's wrath. He was actually afraid…And he felt bad about breaking his promise, but it needed to be done. She deserved to know. And yet…It would have all worked out anyways if he hadn't told her. It's not like she was going to die if she hadn't known. Someone would have eventually found out and told the ANBU soldiers or something. He knew what he had done hadn't been necessary…And he could tell her it had just been a joke. That he was sorry. That it was a cruel and mean joke. Yes, that sounded nice. She would believe him. She wouldn't tell Kodoku about the conversation. He didn't have to break the promise. He could tell her it was all a lie…

"Yeah…." Sasuke whispered as he turned the door knob, opening the door, "It's the truth."

He owed Kodoku that much for all the trouble he's caused her…even if she didn't appreciate it. And he owed this to Yuki too…Actually, Kodoku owed it to her. She deserved to know the truth…And he deserved to face the consequences...


	17. Chapter 17

**My Solitary Hope**

**Chapter 17**

Yuki fell asleep crying, and was woken up the next morning by that dreaded alarm clock…which didn't live long past its duty, as she threw it at the wall and it broke. She was tempted to go back to bed and stay there, but instead, remembering that she was to meet her new team today, she quickly got dressed and headed down stairs. When Sasuke came down the stairs, she did her best to ignore him as she grabbed her bag. She saw him stare at her until she was at the door, before he picked his things up and followed her, and though Yuki was afraid he'd see through her façade, and try to stop her, he said nothing as they left together for the training grounds, where they assumed they're team would be.

Just as expected, their team was there, already practicing. Well, maybe not practicing… Kiba was making sly comments about Hinata, who was in turn stammering as she tried to start a conversation with Naruto, who was trying to impress Sakura, who glomped Sasuke as soon as she set her eyes upon him. In fact, only Kodoku and Shino seemed to be practicing.

"Where are our teachers?" Yuki asked after introductions with the other team were made, the exception being, to Sasuke great relief, Kodoku and Shino.

He prayed that their fight would drag on. He really didn't want to face Kodoku. To his surprise, Yuki was acting as if nothing had happened. She wasn't dragging her sister off to a corner and asking her about it. She wasn't even looking at them.

"They're late. But we know Kakashi is always late, so it's no big deal…And Kurenai is probably at Asuma's…I heard he told his team he'd be missing today…" Kiba said, now staring in awe at Yuki.

Sasuke felt something inside him move as Kiba stared at Yuki. Like Kiba'd just stolen something precious of his, and he wanted it back.

"So you mean we're not actually taking the test today?" he asked.

"I didn't say that…Kakashi should be here soon," Kiba replied, still staring at Yuki.

Sasuke walked past him, 'accidentally' kicking him in the shin as he walked towards his team members, though he kept a weary eye on Kodoku, who was still fighting. He noticed the long scratches on her arms, and how she moved stiffly, and not with her usual gracefulness. She still had the upper hand as of now, but it didn't look like she'd keep it for long.

"Kodoku, are you injured?" Shino asked, obviously noticing that she wasn't okay.

"I'm fine. Why?" Kodoku asked, as she dodged a blow from his kunai.

"It's like you're holding back on me," he said.

"Maybe I am," Kodoku smirked back, but just then, Shino dove down for another attack and Kodoku misplaced her foot, twisting it backwards and falling.

When she'd hit the ground, Naruto ran to her side.

"Are you okay?" he asked, genuinely worried, and holding his hand out to her. She took it and nodded, thought winced as she stood up.

"You think you can make it through the test?" he asked again, seeing that she was having difficulty standing.

"I said I was fine. Thanks for worrying, but really."

A loud poofing sound filled the silence as Kurenai appeared along with Kakashi.

"Ah, you're all here? Wonderful," Kakashi said as he began reading his book again.

Without looking up, he continued, "Okay, so…Survival Test goes like this. You have to get these bells from Kurenai and me before noon. If you don't, you'll be tied to those posts over there for lunch and you'll watch the rest of us eat lunch in front of you."

"Why are there only six bells and eight of us?" Naruto asked.

"Because that way, at least two of you will fail, if not all of you…If you DO fail, you go back to the academy. Now, are you ready?" Kurenai answered his question.

All members wore competitive expressions, and they all nodded.

"Then…GO!" and with that, Kurenai and Kakashi disappeared, each holding three bells.

Kodoku was the quickest to move away from the group, quickly jumped forward into the trees, standing on a branch, concentrating on her teacher's chakra. Quickly finding it, she turned towards it and jumped. However, her foot slipped on the branch and she fell towards the ground, quickly catching herself on the branch above the ground. She winced as she landed on the branch, smoothly, but in a stiff fashion.

James had been…harsh last night, in his punishment. He'd connected two and two, and realized that Kodoku had known about Yuki's departure, and as punishment, he'd forced her to sleep with him again. But this time, he hadn't cared about her protest.

She winced as she remembered it all, but still focused on her teacher's chakra. She had to get that bell. She couldn't fail. She just couldn't. She began jumping again, from branch to branch, and though her footing wasn't perfect, she still managed to make her way forward quickly.

Yuki focused on her teachers chakra as well, though she kept her sisters chakra in the back of her mind as well. It was surprisingly low, but that's didn't bother her. What bothered her more were the bruises on her sister's arms and legs…Maybe Sasuke had been telling the truth.

It would all make sense.

Coming home at night, not being able to get up in the morning. The bruises and the injuries. It all DID make sense. Anger soared through her as she latched onto Kakashi's chakra and she charged forward, not noticing the girl with pink hair that followed her, kunai in hand.

Naruto prepared to jump off, but Kodoku left before he did and he stared at the direction in which she'd gone.

Damn she was fast.

Finding her chakra, he was surprised to see that she was already in the forest, and standing still.

'She couldn't be trying to locate chakra,' Naruto thought to himself, 'She couldn't be at the level yet, right?'

But before he could ponder the idea even more, he felt her fall. More like saw her chakra fall, and he rushed in her direction, but she caught herself at the last minute and began towards the south. Filled with curiosity, since he'd been planning to go south anyways, after Kurenai, because Kakashi never said you had to go over the bells that your own teacher had, he followed her silently. She knew where she was going, though he could tell that she was wincing every time she jumped.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Yuki was going to find Kodoku in the forest alone, and then tell her. Sasuke was screwed. And why was Sakura following Yuki, anyway?

That didn't matter right now.

He had to get a bell and then get as far away from here as possible. And as quickly as possible.

He turned around and focused on Kakashi's chakra, circling around before pulling out a kunai and running after Yuki, realizing that she'd already found Kakashi… And Sakura probably had too.

Kodoku stopped, panting and wheezing, and sat down on a tree branch. Someone was following her, of that she was certain, and by looks of it, it might have been Naruto… And then there was Yuki, who had headed the complete opposite direction, and every step she took, her chakra was getting dimmer from the distance.

Her follower got closer, and she thought they'd pass by her with no intention of stopping, but she was wrong.

"Are you okay?"

"Aren't you wasting time?" Kodoku answered Naruto's question with another.

"But you're hurt. This isn't exactly fair," he replied, obviously worried about her condition.

"Try saying that again when I'm eating lunch in front of you as you're tied to a pole," Kodoku laughed, but soon, her laughing became desperate coughing. Squatting down, Naruto pat her back until she finished, and she took a deep breath, standing up again.

"Thanks, but you need to get a move on it. I'll be fine," Kodoku said, leaning against the tree, trying to catch her breath, and ignore the dull pain that echoed within her body. Naruto nodded reluctantly, but jumped off towards the North again, quickly finding Kurenai's chakra, but keeping Kodoku's in sight as well.

Kodoku stood and once again put two chakra's in view. Kurenai's and …. Where was Yuki's? Kodoku felt panic rise up her throat slowly as she searched to the South.

It was gone.


	18. Chapter 18

**My Solitary Hope**

**Chapter 18**

Yuki pulled her katana out of it's sheath and stood her ground as Sakura appeared out of the bushes. Her surprised look wasn't hidden, and then it turned into one of hatred.

"You…," she hissed, getting into a fighting position, and pulling out four kunais, fitting them between her fingers.

"Sakura, stop this nonsense. We're here on a survival test, so why the hell do you want to fight?" Yuki replied, calmly hiding her apprehension.

"So first you steal my Sasuke, and now you steal my pride? Don't think I'm stupid!" she hissed again.

"No, I'm just saying there's a time for everything, and now is not the time to be fighting each other."

"Well now I know that I love him more than you do," she sneered.

"…What do you mean," Yuki asked, genuinely confused.

"You don't love him enough to fight for him…You don't actually care about him. You don't know ANYTHING about him. I can understand him. I DO understand him. I know so much more about him than you do," she replied, her voice breaking as tears began falling down her face.

"Sakura…"

"No! You know nothing about him. You don't know that his favorite color is blue, you don't know that he has the top score in class, you don't know what his fighting style is, how much he progresses every week…And worse of all, you can't tell when he's lying," she said, smiling scornfully.

"What do you mean?"

"You wouldn't understand. You don't love him enough, but you have no idea how much it hurts me to see him look at you the way he does."

Yuki looked confused.

"Don't play stupid with me!" Sakura screamed as she charged foreward, kunais outstretched in front of her.

Yuki stepped to the side to avoid the hit, and Sakura went past her, only to blindly throw the kunais behind her, hoping to hit Yuki's unguarded back. The sound of metal hitting metal filled her ears, followed by a voice she wasn't expecting.

"Sakura…."

It was filled with loathing hatred, and anger. Sakura turned around to face Sasuke's contored face. Why was he here? Why did he ALWAYS have to show up to save Yuki?…

It wasn't fair.

More tears streamed down her face as she fell onto her knees, screaming. It just wasn't fair. With all the effort she put into being Sasuke's favorite…Why didn't he like her? What was wrong with her? So she was a little controlling…It was only because she liked him so much, so why couldn't he see that?

She gripped the kunai that was left in her hand until it broke through her skin, drawing blood.

It just wasn't fair.

Anger pulsed through her veins. What was so much better about Yuki that Sakura didn't have? What made Sasuke protect Yuki so valiantly? So thoughtlessly? So stupidly?...

She stood up, and stared at Yuki so intensely that Yuki could feel her eyes bore into her own.

Without thinking, Sakura threw the kunai as hard as she could in Yuki's direction, so quickly that you couldn't see it, and then turn around and ran. Ran towards Kakashi…She had to get a bell. She would prove to Sasuke that she was better.

Sasuke saw Sakura throw something and out of instinct, turned towards Yuki, who was staggering backwards, clutching her arm, as a kunai impaled it. He ran to her as he began panicking…It was the first time Sakura would have seen him panic over a girl…

Pulling it out, he pulled out bandages from his pouch and immediately began wrapping her arm up, as she winced, unable to speak. The words Sakura had said to her… she sprayed they weren't true. It was the only thought that went through her mind as she stared at him.

"Sasuke…What's your favorite color?" she asked, trying not to laugh at her own idiocy.

"Hmmm? Blue," he said, looking up at her, "Why?"

Yuki smiled sadly back, "Nothing."

Kodoku jumped back towards the direction where she'd last seen Yuki. There were only two options. Either Yuki had gone out of range, but that would mean she'd have to leave the village, and the other one was that Kodoku's chakra was too low to focus of Yuki's…

Her vision blurred as she continued plowing through the forest to the South. Yuki had better be alive….

She better be.

It was the last thought that went through her head as she saw the ground come nearer, ad she fell onto the dirt, unconscious.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto caught sight of Kurenai, sitting on a log in the middle of a field…A far too open position for it to really be her. She was vulnerable to attack from anywhere from there, meaning it was probably a doppelganger. Naruto searched the outlaying forest around the field and search for any sign of movement among the trees…and found Kurenai, sitting in a tree branch, dosing off.

Perfect.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sakura stared at the bell that hung off of Kakashi's belt. Only one left already? She didn't consider who had won the others, but instead, built up the chakra in her fist, ready to strike, as well as building up chakra in her legs, to make her go faster. This was the moment she'd been waiting for. The moment where she'd show Sasuke that she really did love him, and that she was better than Yuki.

"Now Sakura…If you really want the bell, you have to come at me with the intention to kill," Kakashi said, keeping his book in front of his eyes.

"Put you're book away. You're going to need to focus on the fight this time," she replied, already in a murderous mood.

"Oh no… I'll beat you while reading my book. Don't worry about—" But he couldn't finish as Sakura punched him in the stomach, hard, and he flew backwards, skidding on the dirt, causing it to rise.

"I SAID…Put the book away," Sakura said in an assertive, angry tone, which surprised Kakashi, but he smiled.

"Now THERE'S a killing intent."

"Good team work!" Kiba said as he pat Hinata on the back, and she smiled, looking at the two little bells in her hand, handing one of them to her partner.

"You don't think it's cheating?" Hinata asked.

"They never said we couldn't work together, and there's probably no other way."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sakura looked around her. Kakashi had disappeared. She looked in front of her.

Nothing.

Behind her?

Nothing.

To the left and right?

Still nothing.

Up?

Nope…

That left only one direction.

Sakura smirked as she gathered chakra in her fist and punched the ground, making it shatter, and Kakashi jumped out from beneath the ground and landed in a tree, smiling.

So Sakura wasn't as love struck as he'd imagined. She still had a good fighting style and wasn't completely hopeless…Still, she was going to fail. Alone, she'd never manage to get the bell.

He looked down at her and she smiled, as if she knew something he didn't.

"Geez, even without your book, I still won," she said, lifting up a bell in her hand, and Kakashi looked down at his belt where half of the string still remained, in shock.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yuki followed behind Sasuke silently as they made their way towards Kakashi's chakra, when Yuki suddenly stopped, frozen.

"What?" Sasuke asked, as Yuki whipped her head around and stared behind her.

"It's gone…" she whispered, and turned back around to stare at Sasuke questioningly, but he could see the fear in her eyes.

"What is?"

"Kodoku's chakra…"

Sasuke's eyes widened as he realized that neither could he.

Just by looking at Sasuke's expression, Yuki knew she was right and immediately began running back towards the direction her sister had taken, searching for even the slightest trace of familiar chakra.


End file.
